Budget & Policy

The Donald Trump administration’s outline for a $1 trillion defense budget for fiscal 2026 received swift pushback from senior Republicans for the decision to include anticipated reconciliation funds to reach the record topline. While the White House touted an “unprecedented” 13% boost in defense spending, the base defense budget, released on Friday, would remain flat […]

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) called for more investment in new nuclear power to address the United States and global demand for electricity, in an April 28 opinion piece posted in the Washington Times. “We are at a pivotal moment in energy production that will define our nation and the world for the remainder of […]

The House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee will hear from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Wednesday morning, while the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee will hear from the acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Teresa Robbins later that day. Wright will testify in a budget hearing on the Department of Energy. The […]

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) is urging House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) to retain tax credits for nuclear energy developments in the reconciliation bill. Federal tax incentives aimed to support investment in and operation of nuclear plants are important to a nuclear resurgence, Newhouse said in a letter sent on May […]

President Donald Trump’s administration signaled Friday it envisions moderate belt-tightening at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management during fiscal 2026. “The Budget maintains the Hanford site in Washington at the 2025 enacted level but reduces funding for various cleanup activities at other sites,” according to a topline or skinny budget request document rolled […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday favorably reported out two of President Donald Trump’s Department of Energy nominees. The committee endorsed Preston Wells Griffith to be undersecretary of energy and Dario Gil to be undersecretary of energy for science. Both nominations are being placed on the Senate executive calendar, one of the last […]

The Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition announced April 25 it elected Katherine Peretick as chair of the coalition and Stacey Paradis as vice chair. The two will lead the commission in its aim to build a nuclear waste management program to dispose of spent nuclear fuel stored at both operating and shutdown nuclear plants nationwide, according […]

During the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term he has moved aggressively to reduce the federal workforce and the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons complex has not been immune. Trump’s second term, which started Jan. 20, hit the 100-day mark this week on April 30.  One of Trump’s initiatives has been the […]

The Donald Trump administration released the fiscal 2026 budget proposal and topline discretionary funding request Friday, calling for a 13% increase in defense spending and a 22.6% decrease in non-defense spending. The request, obtained by the Exchange Monitor, said the Department of Defense would “re-establish deterrence” in coordination with Trump’s “peace through strength” agenda. The […]

The Donald Trump administration released the fiscal 2026 budget proposal and topline discretionary funding request Friday, calling for a 13% increase in defense spending and a 22.6% decrease in non-defense spending. The request, obtained by the Exchange Monitor, said the Department of Defense would “re-establish deterrence” in coordination with Trump’s “peace through strength” agenda. The […]

The Congressional Budget Office projected in a report released April 24 that plans for the U.S. nuclear forces as described in the fiscal 2025 budget would cost $946 billion for the 2025-2034 period. Of the $946 billion, $817 billion is what is budgeted to “implement the plans for current and future delivery systems, warheads, command […]

Washington D.C. – President Donald Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy said Wednesday if confirmed he intends to focus on deployment of advanced reactors and addressing waste storage. Nominee Thedore (Ted) Garrish, who previously served in the role in the late 1980s, said in his prepared statement to the Senate Energy […]

During the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term he has moved aggressively to reduce the federal workforce and the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons complex has not been immune. Trump’s second term, which started Jan. 20, hit the 100-day mark this week on April 30.  A document shared with Exchange Monitor in […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Armed Services Committee voted 35-21 on Tuesday to advance a $150 billion defense spending plan as part of the forthcoming reconciliation bill. The committee’s markup of the legislation included voting down a slew of Democrat-proposed amendments aimed at placing limits on the spending. These included one from Rep. John Garamendi […]

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) recently vetoed a bill that would have removed some of the oversight and regulations for small modular reactor deployment in Arizona. House Bill 2774, sponsored by state House Rep. Michael Carbone (R), would have permitted large industrial energy users to build an SMR in their facility without having a certificate […]

The Donald Trump administration released the fiscal 2026 budget proposal and topline discretionary funding request Friday, calling for a 13% increase in defense spending and a 22.6% decrease in non-defense spending. The request, obtained by the Exchange Monitor, said the Department of Defense would “re-establish deterrence” in coordination with Trump’s “peace through strength” agenda. The […]

WASHINGTON, DC. — In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, Vice Admiral Scott Pappano, President Donald Trump’s pick for principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, was asked by Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) if he thought the agency’s workforce should increase. “What you’re going to be tasked with, you and others, […]

During the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term he has moved aggressively to reduce the federal workforce and the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons complex has not been immune. Trump’s second term, which started Jan. 20, hit the 100-day mark this week on April 30.  A document shared with Exchange Monitor in […]

Washington D.C. – President Donald Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy said Wednesday if confirmed he intends to focus on deployment of nuclear advanced reactors and addressing nuclear waste storage. Nominee Theodore (Ted) Garrish, who previously served in the role in the late 1980s, said in his prepared statement to the […]

WASHINGTON, DC. – A reconciliation bill that would provide $150 billion in extra funding to defense passed 35-21 in the House Armed Services Committee, despite opposition from Democrats on programs like Sentinel. Sentinel, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) currently being built by Northrop Grumman, received $1.5 billion in “risk reduction” funding in the bill released […]

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), 75, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Monday he will not seek re-election, months after announcing his cancer diagnosis. “After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned,” Connolly said in a letter to constituents in Fairfax County […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear testimony Tuesday morning from President Donald Trump’s nominee for principal deputy administrator for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. Vice Admiral Scott Pappano, the administration’s nominee to be principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, is scheduled to testify alongside a defense nominee […]

While shipbuilding and Golden Dome are both receiving $59 billion in the $150 billion Department of Defense reconciliation bill, U.S. Air Force aircraft programs also see a significant jump, including $4.5 billion to accelerate the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber. The House Armed Services Committee will mark up the reconciliation bill, which specifies $13 […]

Both chambers of congress released a $150 billion defense reconciliation bill over the weekend that includes $1.5 billion for Sentinel risk reduction and $500 million for Minuteman III improvements. The bill also includes $800 million for accelerated next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) deployment and development. Sentinel, an ICBM currently being built by Northrop Grumman, will […]

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) recently vetoed a bill that would have removed some of the oversight and regulations for small modular reactor deployment in Arizona. House Bill 2774, sponsored by state House Rep. Michael Carbone (R), would have permitted large industrial energy users to build a SMR in their facility without having a certificate […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Wednesday on the nomination of long-time Department of Energy hand Theodore (Ted) Garrish to become assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy. During the hearing at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the Senate panel is expected to hear testimony from Garrish as well as […]

The Congressional Budget Office projected in a report released April 24 that plans for the U.S. nuclear forces as described in the fiscal 2025 budget would cost $946 billion for the 2025-2034 period. Of the $946 billion, $817 billion is what is budgeted to “implement the plans for current and future delivery systems, warheads, command […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Christopher Hanson, commissioner for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Monday he does not know where the future of the agency stands under the current Donald Trump administration, the executive order threatening diluting power, and the current lawsuit against the agency. “I don’t know,” Hanson said with a laugh in answer to a […]

A senior member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees has raised concerns that the Trump administration’s widespread tariffs policy will lead to a spike in defense acquisition costs and negatively impact the industrial base. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is also the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to […]

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the no. 2 Senate Democrat and a senior defense appropriator, announced Wednesday in a video he will not seek reelection in 2026. Durbin, 80, was elected to the Senate in 1996 and has served as the upper chamber’s Democratic Whip since 2005. He was previously the top Democrat on the Senate […]