For more background on U.S. nuclear testing history, see the Department of Energy’s Nevada archive: DOE_NV-209_Rev16.pdf.
Lawmakers Sound the Alarm
Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he interprets Trump’s comments “at face value” to mean “nuclear explosive testing.” Reed noted that during the Cold War, the U.S. conducted over 1,000 nuclear tests — far surpassing both Russia and China.
Experts are warning that resuming nuclear testing could destabilize decades of global nonproliferation efforts.
Those tests helped the U.S. build “sophisticated modeling codes,” Reed said, allowing scientists to safely verify the reliability of the nuclear arsenal without detonations.
“The global moratorium on testing locked in a technical advantage for the United States,” Davenport said. “Reopening the door to nuclear testing would be foolish — it could let others catch up.”
A Dangerous Shift in Global Stability
While Trump has not elaborated on his remarks, the potential for renewed nuclear testing represents a profound shift in U.S. nuclear policy and a direct challenge to decades of arms control agreements.
