Senior Trump administration energy and nuclear officials will meet with the White House and National Security Council in coming days to dissuade President Trump from resuming explosive nuclear weapons testing in Nevada, according to multiple sources familiar with the planning. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Brandon M. Williams, and top officials from U.S. National Laboratories will warn that such testing is unnecessary, would take years to implement, and could trigger a dangerous global chain reaction, CNN reports.
The emergency meeting follows Trump’s October Truth Social post declaring he had instructed the “Department of War” to “start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis” because Russia, China, and North Korea are testing. The announcement confused officials across the administration, as the Department of Energy—not Defense—oversees nuclear weapons testing, and no actual plans for explosive tests existed.
Wright attempted to clarify the president’s intent, telling Fox News the tests would be “system tests” involving “noncritical explosions” rather than full nuclear detonations. “These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call noncritical explosions. So you’re testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon,” Wright explained. However, Trump later told CBS’s “60 Minutes” he intended to “test nuclear weapons like other countries do,” insisting “we’re gonna test also.”
The upcoming White House meeting represents officials’ attempt to steer Trump away from explosive testing, which the U.S. abandoned in 1992 and banned under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996. Sources say NNSA officials will present a memo outlining their current stockpile stewardship program, which uses supercomputer simulations and subcritical experiments to ensure weapons reliability without full detonations.
Officials will stress that resuming explosive nuclear tests would require at least 36 months of preparation at the Nevada National Security Site, formerly the Nevada Test Site. The timeline could extend significantly due to likely lawsuits from environmental groups and opposition from Nevada’s state government. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) has vowed to “do everything to stop this,” while Rep. Dina Titus introduced the RESTRAIN Act to prevent explosive testing.
Beyond logistics, officials warn that resumed U.S. testing would give adversaries—particularly China, which has conducted only 47 nuclear tests compared to America’s 1,054—the excuse to conduct their own tests, accelerating a dangerous arms race. Russia has already threatened to resume testing if the U.S. does, while China would gain valuable data to advance its smaller nuclear arsenal.
Energy Department spokesperson Ben Dietderich pushed back on the idea that agency officials would dissuade the White House, stating: “The Trump administration continues to explore all options as it moves to expand nuclear testing on an equal basis with other nations.” A White House official reiterated that “nothing has been eliminated from consideration as all decision-making authority lies with the President.”
The debate highlights a fundamental divide between Trump’s rhetoric and technical reality. While the president insists testing is necessary to match adversaries, nuclear experts maintain the U.S. has “really good data” from Cold War tests and that modern supercomputer simulations provide sufficient confidence in the stockpile. Resuming explosive tests would provide minimal technical value while carrying enormous political, environmental, and strategic costs.
Footage Charlie Kirk has been shot
Charlie Kirk has been shot
