WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday the United States need not resume explosive nuclear testing, though he and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) head Brandon Williams acknowledged the president could choose to do so for reasons beyond technical necessity.
Both officials’ answers were prompted by sharp questioning from Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
Rosen, whose state includes NNSA’s Nevada National Security Site, pressed Wright on whether he would advise President Donald Trump to restart nuclear explosive testing, noting that leaders of the U.S. weapons laboratories and military commanders have repeatedly certified the reliability of the nuclear stockpile through the Stockpile Stewardship Program and non-explosive testing methods.
“I think our arsenal is ready to go, but there may be other reasons for which the commander in chief may want to engage in a nuclear test,” Wright said.
Rosen responded by asking whether Wright was rejecting decades of scientific consensus and data dating back to the 1990s showing explosive testing is unnecessary to maintain the stockpile.
“There is not a need for explosive testing,” Wright finally conceded.
Williams later characterized the issue as “a multi dimensional problem” involving technical, geopolitical and political considerations.
“The question of testing, I think, as this hearing demonstrates, is a multi dimensional problem,” Williams said. “There is a technical component to it, and I support the secretary’s statement, but there’s a geopolitical and a political component to it as well.”
Williams added that decisions on testing ultimately “rest in the hands of the president” because they relate to nuclear deterrence.
The United States has maintained a moratorium on explosive nuclear testing since 1992 while relying on advanced simulations, experiments and surveillance activities to assess the safety and reliability of the stockpile.