According to recent reports, Samuel Brinton, the non-binary employee who served in the Biden administration and was charged with multiple instances of baggage theft at two different airports, is no longer employed by the Department of Energy (DOE).
According to a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy, Brinton is no longer employed by the DOE. However, due to legal restrictions, the DOE cannot speak further on personnel matters.
After being selected as a non-binary gender-fluid person for the post that controls nuclear waste policy at the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Brinton made headlines and garnered a lot of attention. In addition, Brinton mentioned in a post that they are a member of the so-called Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which is a group for drag queens.
In June, Brinton was hired as the deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the Energy Department. Brinton identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them as their preferred pronouns. Brinton, who identifies as LGBTQ and has a history of activism, is widely regarded as the first openly gender-fluid person to hold a top position in the United States government. On Monday, the United States Department of Energy website featured William J. Boyle as acting deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition.
Brinton is suspected of stealing women’s luggage from the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas in July and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport in September. They are currently facing charges in both the states of Nevada and Minnesota. It was reported that each of the luggage, along with their contents, had a value of more than two thousand dollars.
In the event that occurred in Minneapolis, Brinton at first denied stealing the luggage but afterward stated that they had taken them by accident. However, according to reports in the media, authorities have noted that Brinton was seen using the Vera Bradley suitcase on at least two separate occasions when going to Washington on September 18 and October 9.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, the ranking Republican member on the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee, sent a letter on November 30 to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm demanding that Brinton’s security clearance be revoked and that the department take steps to fire him. In the letter, Barrasso also requested that the department take steps to fire Brinton. Granholm was asked to respond to the letter no later than Tuesday, as stated in the letter.
Barrasso sent Granholm a letter regarding the department’s procedures for assessing applicants and giving security clearances back in July, but he did not get a response to his message.
It was not immediately clear whether Brinton had been fired or had voluntarily resigned from his position.
