Congresswoman Lee, Nevada Delegation Demand Trump Administration Reverse Course on Nuclear Testing
Yesterday, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) joined Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Representatives Steven Horsford (NV-04) and Dina Titus (NV-01) in sending a letter to the Trump Administration expressing outrage over the President’s directive to resume explosive nuclear testing. The letter, which was sent to President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Brandon Williams, also asked for clarity on what exactly resuming explosive nuclear testing would entail, and whether President Trump could commit to not resuming explosive nuclear testing, which would pose a significant risk to Nevadans.
“We write to express our outrage and unequivocal opposition to President Trump’s reckless directive to resume explosive nuclear weapons testing and to demand clarification. While Secretary Wright has tried to clarify President Trump’s Truth Social post, the president’s directive announced last week on Truth Social is unnecessary, dangerous, and scientifically unjustified. It threatens to reawaken one of the darkest chapters in Nevada’s history, endangers American lives, and undermines decades of bipartisan work to keep our nation and the world safe from the devastation of nuclear war,” wrote the members.
“[T]o even contemplate detonating nuclear weapons on American soil is a betrayal of science, safety, and the American people. This rash move also risks igniting a new global nuclear arms race, signaling to adversaries that the U.S. is abandoning its leadership and commitment to restraint and nonproliferation,” the members continued. “No country except for North Korea has conducted an explosive nuclear test in this century. This sudden reversal weakens our diplomatic credibility, endangers our allies, and undermines international security.”
Read the full letter HERE.
Following President Trump’s announcement that the United States would resume explosive testing of nuclear weapons, Congresswoman Lee released a statement explaining how the President’s announcement completely disregards all scientific expertise.
“Just this year, President Trump’s own NNSA Administrator explicitly stated that we do not need to conduct explosive nuclear testing. Rather than trusting the science and listening to the experts, including those at the Nevada National Security Sites, Donald Trump wants to perform dangerous, unnecessary tests to impress his buddies, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “Nevada knows all too well the lasting consequences of nuclear testing. I won’t allow innocent Nevadans to pay the price for this president’s nuclear saber-rattling.”
Congresswoman Lee has fought to ensure victims of our country’s nuclear legacy receive care for exposure to toxic radiation. Her bipartisan Presumption for Radiation or Toxin Exposure Coverage for Troops (PROTECT) Act would establish a presumption that certain veterans were exposed to radiation and other toxins at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), expanding their access to health care. She also pushed for extending and expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to ensure all radiation victims, including in southern Nevada, get the help they need.
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