Democrats fight to block Trump’s 'reckless and unnecessary' call to restart nuclear testing
Senate Democrats want to curb President Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally resume nuclear testing, as the president suggested the U.S. would do on an "equal basis" with Russia and China...
By Fox News · Fox News
Senate Democrats want to curb President Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally resume nuclear testing, as the president suggested the U.S. would do on an "equal basis" with Russia and China moving forward. While Trump did not elaborate and clarify what reinstating nuclear testing would involve, Senate Democrats are seeking to put some limitations in place for the executive branch amid concerns that launching the first nuclear test in more than 30 years would prompt near-peer adversaries like China to follow. As a result, Sens. Mark Kelly , D-Ariz., Catherine Cortez Masto , D-Nev., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced the No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act Friday. The measure prohibits the U.S. from conducting a nuclear test unless a foreign state first conducts a nuclear test, and would require Congress to sign off on such nuclear tests. "Restarting nuclear testing would be reckless and unnecessary," Kelly said in a Friday statement. "We’ve already conducted more than a thousand tests and know our warheads work. This would just risk triggering a dangerous chain reaction, potentially encouraging countries like China to do the same and advance their own technology." ENERGY SECRETARY REVEALS HOW US NUCLEAR TESTS WILL WORK Trump’s call to reinstate nuclear testing struck a chord with those in Nevada, where the bulk of U.S. nuclear testing from 1951 to 1992 was conducted at the Nevada Test Site . The area is now known as the Nevada National Security Site, which aims to safeguard the U.S.’ nuclear weapons stockpile. But the site is the only location currently in the U.S. where a nuclear test could be administered, according to the lawmakers. "Nevadans were blindsided when President Trump said he could revive the outdated, misguided practice of detonating nuclear weapons just 60 miles from my hometown of Las Vegas," Cortez Masto said in a Friday statement. "No administration should have the authority to set off nuclear bombs on American soil…