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2h ago

Energy, Nuclear Chiefs Seek to Steer Trump Away From Explosive Nuclear Tests

Officials plan to present non‑explosive options in response to a presidential order that revived uncertainty over U.S. testing.

Members of the 576th Flight Test Squadron monitor an operational test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III missile, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on March 27, 2015.
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One following a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 30, 2025, capping off a week-long tour of Asia.
A mushroom cloud rises with ships below during a nuclear weapons test on Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, in 1946.
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Overview

  • Energy Secretary Chris Wright, NNSA chief Brandon M. Williams, and national lab leaders plan White House and NSC meetings in coming days to argue against explosive warhead detonations, according to CNN reporting.
  • A White House official said the president instructed the Department of War and the Department of Energy to test nuclear weapons on an equal basis with other countries and reaffirmed that all options remain at his discretion.
  • Agency officials say there are no active plans for explosive testing and describe internal confusion over the directive, with Wright publicly characterizing current U.S. work as system tests without nuclear explosions.
  • NNSA prepared a memo outlining existing non‑explosive tools such as supercomputer simulations and non‑nuclear flight tests, estimating at least 36 months would be required to gain scientifically useful data from any underground detonations.
  • Any return to explosive testing would occur at Nevada’s underground site and likely face state sign‑off, legal challenges, and renewed focus on legacy contamination and health harms to downwind communities, with experts warning of possible international reactions.