I recently read Brinton wasn’t actually fired yet while he’s under investigation. He’s on leave with pay.
Looks like he was put on leave in November and fired by December. From wikipedia:
“In November 2022, Brinton was placed on leave by the Department of Energy after they were charged with theft of luggage at an airport.[1][37] On December 12, 2022, after a second similar charge for a July incident, a Department of Energy spokesperson confirmed that Brinton was no longer a DOE employee.”