As the government shutdown surges toward becoming the longest in U.S. history, Senate Democrats are condemning President Donald Trump’s Wednesday evening declaration that his administration will resume nuclear weapons testing.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday that he had “instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” arguing that Russia and China were conducting their own tests and that America must match their efforts. The president stated that the U.S. already possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, noting that this, and the modernization of the weapons, had occurred during his first term.
Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen issued an emotional rebuke, arguing that nuclear testing could possibly bring radioactive “contamination” beyond the desert.
“Trump’s going to start nuclear testing. Explosive nuclear testing. What happens in Nevada ain’t gonna’ stay there,” Rosen told reporters on Thursday after criticizing Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “The ground, the air, the water, all across this country, places like Utah, Nebraska, Idaho, keep going. Because the rain falls everywhere, the wind blows everywhere. And that contamination won’t stay isolated.”
Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy pilot, said the U.S. has no need to test its nuclear weapons, and claimed the idea “benefits the Chinese.”
“We can model this stuff; we have enough data from hundreds, maybe up to a thousand tests,” Kelly told reporters. “This benefits the Chinese.”
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*RELATED: [Trump Orders Department Of War To Restart Nuclear Weapons Tests]*
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https://dailycaller.com/2025/10/30/democrats-trump-nuclear-testing-jacky-rosen-mark-kelly-richard-blumenthal/