Overview
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said planned work will be system-level, “non‑critical” tests without nuclear detonations, telling Fox News there will be no mushroom clouds.
- President Trump, in a 60 Minutes interview, alleged Russia, China, Pakistan and North Korea are secretly conducting underground nuclear tests, a claim he cited to justify U.S. testing.
- China formally denied conducting secret tests and reiterated its commitment to suspend nuclear testing and support the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty framework.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon is moving quickly on the directive and will coordinate with the Department of Energy to sustain a credible deterrent, but no schedule was provided.
- Lawmakers and experts warned that resuming explosive detonations would end a three-decade U.S. moratorium and could spur rivals to follow suit; the last U.S. nuclear test was in 1992.