Vol. 30, No. 43 
Dems’ big night set to reshape top Defense Committee spots, as key GOP’ers knocked Off
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Budget & Policy
Senate Appropriations could look much different in January
With the Democratic Party seizing the majority in Congress, coupled with retirements on both sides of the aisle, the Senate Appropriations Committee will look a lot different in January 2027 than it did a year earlier. Current Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) lost her re-election bid to political newcomer Troy Jackson (D) last week ending her […]
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Budget & Policy
Wilson wins S.C. recount in narrow victory over young Democrat opponent
A recount in the middle of the night Wednesday confirmed the reelection of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), whose district abuts Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., according to local publication Post and Courier. Wilson fought off a challenge from 25-year-old Democrat Zyon Khalifa, who was just 2,840 votes from nearly unseating the senior congressman. The […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Los Alamos reports pit output outpaced initial target as 2027 funding outlook remains stable
Los Alamos National Laboratory exceeded its fiscal 2026 production goals and finished the year with a plutonium pit production rate 2.6 times its original target, Laboratory Director Thom Mason said during the lab’s final virtual town hall of the year. Mason called it the most successful period in the history of PF-4, the lab’s plutonium […]
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National Laboratories
Y-12 ready to resume making alloy used for nuclear weapons, NNSA says
The Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn., has been qualified by the feds to make a “binary” alloy for the first time in 20 years that could help modernize the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a Nov. 5 press release that Y-12 has […]
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Budget & Policy
House Republicans block measure to impeach Hegseth
House Republicans on Tuesday evening voted to block an attempt to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In a 211-204 vote, the House moved to refer Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) articles of impeachment against Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee rather than bring them up for a floor vote, effectively stalling the effort. Nevertheless, Democrats have signaled […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Submarine force commander: No operational gap planned as Columbia replaces Ohio
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy’s top submarine commander said the service will not accept an operational gap in its sea-based nuclear deterrent as it moves from Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines to the new Columbia class. Vice Adm. Rick Seif, commander of U.S. Submarine Forces, called the transition his “number one priority” during remarks at the […]
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International
China busy mapping undersea areas around U.S. operations
ARLINGTON, Va. – China’s expanding submarine production and seabed-mapping challenge the U.S. undersea advantage that underpins both conventional operations and the nation’s deterrent, as Beijing is increasingly targeting areas around key American operating locations, according to Vice Adm. Chris Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Forces, said China has launched eight Shang-class submarines […]
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International
Hruby says U.S. must restore its “nuclear IQ” given China-Russia challenge
BURBANK, Calif. — Former National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Jill Hruby said the U.S. government needs to rebuild its understanding of nuclear weapons’ effects as it weighs deterrence in a changing strategic environment involving Russia, China and other nuclear-armed states. At the third annual Outrider Nuclear Media Summit, held Oct. 22-23 at Warner Bros. Studios, […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Town halls for USAF LGM-35A Sentinel to restart this month
Public meetings to gather community input on the U.S. Air Force’s future LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by Northrop Grumman are to restart this month. The town halls will restart as the service prepares a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) brought on by the program’s 2024 Nunn-McCurdy critical cost breach and the resulting program […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Fairbanks Morse Defense wins $99 million contract for sub overhaul Work
Fairbanks Morse Defense last week said it won a $99 million four-year contract to provide repair and parts for submarine Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) overhauls on six U.S. Navy submarines. The company and Navy did not specify which submarines will get the EDG overhauls. This award is part of the Navy’s mitigation strategy to extend […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP managers outline plans for nearly six-month outage in 2027
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant plans (WIPP) currently plans to begin a nearly six-month outage for waste hoist upgrades in July 2027, with work expected to finish in early January 2028, officials said during a Nov. 4 community forum. The work will include upgrades to the waste hoist control and electrical systems, […]
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Budget & Policy
Wrap up: Savannah River gets new office center; NNSA removes cesium from Brazil; House passes nuclear bills; more
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Monday that contractors have broken ground on what will be a new 22,000-square-foot office center at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. NNSA and construction contractor Hensel Phelps broke ground Nov. 4 on the Savannah River Office Complex located in the Site’s H Area, […]
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News & Analysis
Editor’s note: Did you get the email?
Hopefully, readers won’t notice any difference but Exchange Monitor Publications was affected by that big Microsoft Outlook outage on Thursday. The outage, sandwiched between Veterans Day on Wednesday and Friday the 13th, made for an interesting week. Our information technology folks informed us early Friday that our email traffic was resuming. That said, if you […]