Vol. 30, No. 2 
Minibus that funds NNSA passes Senate, heads to Trump’s desk
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Budget & Policy
House Energy Dem says bipartisan minibus shows “progress,” but more needed
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), ranking member of the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee, told the Exchange Monitor last week the most recent bipartisan spending minibus shows lawmakers “making progress” with more work still to do. On Jan. 8, a three-bill minibus appropriations package that included fiscal 2026 funds for Energy and Water development, including […]
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Non-Proliferation
Trump’s nonchalant take on New START worries UCS
President Donald Trump told the New York Times that if a U.S.-Russia nuclear agreement “expires, it expires” and he would “just do a better agreement,” a statement the Union of Concerned Scientists thinks could be dangerous. The New Strategic Arms Reduction (New START) Treaty, signed in 2010 by then U.S. and Russian presidents Barack Obama […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Northrop Grumman tests ICBM target
Northrop Grumman has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target by using a decommissioned LGM-118 “MX” Peacekeeper ICBM’s SR119 second stage motor, the company said last week. The second stage motor came from the Space Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program. The company makes components for the LGM-35A Sentinel future ICBM, as well as ICBM […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Standard Nuclear receives HALEU shipment at Oak Ridge
Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Public radiation levels from Los Alamos low, annual report says
An annual environmental report released last month on the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico shows the facility is complying with key regulatory standards for air and water, DOE said. The 2024 Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) for Los Alamos was released in December. The 300-page report shows the lab’s air […]
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Contracts & Procurement
TVA’s board quorum restored with addition of four new members
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) swore in its four board members Monday, restoring a quorum for the nine-member board. Nominated by President Donald Trump in July, Arthur Graham, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood and Randall Jones were confirmed by the Senate among a bloc of nominations last month. They will now join TVA’s Board Chair Bill […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Wrap up: Sen. Cramer and STRATCOM commander to speak at Nuclear Deterrence Summit; Exec says HII meeting Trump objectives; NNSA cancels comment period for LLNL; Armed Services backs increased defense budget; more
The annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit will feature speeches from big players in the nuclear weapons complex such as National Nuclear Security Administration head Brandon Williams, newly sworn in U.S. Strategic Command commander Adm. Richard Correll, and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) whose state houses silos for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missiles. The agenda will also feature […]