On October 29th, the President used his social media platform, Truth Social, to make a confusing, but potentially very serious announcement: “Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis.”
First off, making a vague, but possibly monumental nuclear weapons policy announcement on social media, thereby dodging any questions or further clarification, leaves both the American public, our allies and our adversaries in a dangerously frustrating haze that lends itself to worst-case-scenario speculation.
This confusion stems from his instruction being directed at the “Department of War,” (aka Department of Defense) which is not responsible for conducting explosive nuclear weapons tests, a job that belongs to the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration. The Air Force and Navy test the delivery systems that carry nuclear weapons, including at California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base which regularly launches ICBM missile tests of Minuteman III’s to the Marshall Islands. So was he talking about testing these nuclear weapons delivery system tests?
The reference to other “countries testing programs” suggest that the “equal basis” appears to be in reference to conducting these delivery system tests by both Russia and China, but the problem is that we already conduct these tests!
The President could not have been referencing other countries conducting explosive nuclear tests, because no nation except North Korea has conducted an explosive nuclear test this century.
It should be noted that influential right wing think tanks like The Heritage Foundation have come out in opposition to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty- and directly calling to re-establish immediate readiness to resume explosive nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). For example, in its January 2025 report, America Must Prepare to Test Nuclear Weapons, it claims that testing is necessary for the global image of America and would be a display of resolve.
Additionally, on page 431, Project 2025 calls for the United States to “Reject ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and indicate a willingness to conduct nuclear tests in response to adversary nuclear developments if necessary. This will require that the National Nuclear Security Administration be directed to move to immediate test readiness…”
If the US were to resume explosive nuclear testing, Russia and others have already signaled they will follow. This reckless move would break a 30-year taboo that has kept the world safer. If the US resumes testing, it won’t just poison the air: it could destroy decades of progress toward preventing nuclear war.
Let’s be clear, even officials from the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Labs, who manage the existing nuclear weapons stockpile have expressed that there’s no military or technical justification for explosive nuclear testing at this time. The billions spent on the Labs’ Supercomputer modeling, National Ignition Facility laser testing and multiple other simulation systems allow them to ensure that the stockpile will work as designed in a “use scenario.”
The US conducted 100 atmospheric and 828 underground explosive nuclear tests at NNSS between 1951 and 1992. The agency currently needs 36 months to get “ready” for a full-scale, underground, explosive nuclear test at NNSS.
All of the 1,054 explosive nuclear tests that have been conducted by the US (in Nevada, the Marshall Islands and a few other locations) were led by either Lawrence Livermore or Los Alamos National Laboratories. Between 1953 and 1962 Livermore Lab coordinated 46 above-ground or “atmospheric” tests, including the largest nuclear test that the US ever conducted, Castle Bravo in the Marshall Islands in 1954. After 1962, LLNL coordinated many more below-ground tests at the Nevada Test Site that continued up until 1992, nearly 30 years later.
See a list of the tests that LLNL conducted between 1953 to 1992.
In response to the President’s sudden announcement, on October 30th Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01) introduced the Renewing Efforts to Suspend Testing and Reinforce Arms Control Initiatives Now (RESTRAIN) Act to prohibit the United States from conducting explosive testing of nuclear weapons.
In her press release announcing the RESTRAIN Act, Representative Titus states, “Donald Trump has put his own ego and authoritarian ambitions above the health and safety of Nevadans. His announcement to resume nuclear testing in the United States goes against the arms control and nonproliferation treaties that the U.S. has spearheaded since the end of the Cold War, and will trigger new tests by Russia and China, reigniting an international arms race. It also puts Nevadans back in the crosshairs of toxic radiation and environmental destruction. With just 97 days until the only arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia expires, now should be the time to negotiate further arms-control agreements, not create mushroom clouds in the Nevada desert.”
The RESTRAIN Act amends U.S. Code to insert a prohibition of explosive nuclear testing while simultaneously preventing any funding from going toward the Trump Administration’s effort to conduct explosive nuclear tests. Tri-Valley CAREs will be following the RESTRAIN Act and will let you know what you can do to support this effort.
From New Mexico to the Marshall Islands, US nuclear tests spread radioactive fallout that killed thousands, contaminated lands and oceans, and sickened generations. Resuming testing would knowingly recreate that suffering—sacrificing more lives, more communities, and more of our planet.
Resuming nuclear testing at this time would solely be a political decision, and it would be a very bad one. The human and environmental toll would be immense: radiation poisoning that seeps into lungs, water, and soil; children born with preventable cancers; ecosystems rendered unlivable. Testing again would repeat history’s worst mistakes on purpose.
In all likelihood, it would open the door to all of the other nuclear powered states conducting their own tests for both their existing stockpile warhead designs, and those that are in development, potentially opening the door to decades of testing and associated releases of radiation into the environment.
Click here for more of our writing about the potential impacts of resuming explosive nuclear testing. Click here for more about the New START treaty expiration on February 5, 2026.
As the exact meaning of this announcement is clarified, Tri-Valley CAREs will continue to report on what it means for our world, nation, and community of Livermore, where nuclear testing is woven into the fabric of the Lab, economy, and lives of Lab workers.