I work for an FFRDC.
In the US, they have passed a continuing resolution and a lot of labs are nervous about the election. They are waiting to see how this turns out. That continuing resolution is going to make hiring difficult.
If Trump is elected, a lot of those jobs are cooked. Mine may be in jeopardy too. I'm applying for PhD programs in Europe to get ahead of the potential brain drain.
The only safe space right now is nuclear.
True. However that money will have to come from somewhere, and there are very few states in the US that fund those efforts heavily. I could see Trump using a carrot or stick with federal funding to kill a lot of those.
Will see though. No idea what's going to happen other than it's going to be a rough few years no matter what.