On October 30, former President Donald Trump directed the U.S. military to restart nuclear weapons testing after more than 30 years of restraint.
It is still unclear whether the president is referring to a return to explosive nuclear testing, but the implications of his comments are deeply concerning.
Two weeks later, the U.S. stood alone in voting against a United Nations resolution calling for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to enter into force. The CTBT is an international treaty which would establish a legally binding, universal prohibition on all nuclear explosive tests. While the U.S Senate never ratified the CTBT, the U.S has been a signer of the CTBT since 1996. It was the beginning of a global testing moratorium, reinforcing the international taboo against detonating nuclear weapons.
The last U.S. explosive nuclear test was in 1992. Since then, after signing the CTBT in 1996, the U.S. has maintained a moratorium on this type of nuclear testing.
While ratification would require the U.S. to comply with the full range of commitments in the treaty, signing it is not purely symbolic. Signatories to the CTBT are bound to ensure their conduct would not violate the treaty’s objective of banning nuclear weapons testing worldwide, preventing nuclear proliferation, and promoting nuclear disarmament.
Resuming nuclear tests would violate that commitment and jeopardize decades of arms control progress. Regardless of whether tests were conducted above ground or underground, they would also put communities near test sites at risk of radiation exposure and long-term environmental damage.
Communities who were exposed to nuclear testing decades ago, including many Native populations and those living “downwind” from nuclear testing sites, are still living with the health impacts of past testing.
In response to President Trump’s announcement about a resumption of nuclear testing, Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01) and Sen. Ed Markey (MA) introduced legislation to prohibit nuclear explosive testing in the U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (NV) and Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04) also led a letter to the administration expressing outrage at the President’s announcement.
“Nuclear weapons threaten every person on this planet — and President Trump’s reckless decision to resume testing endangers us all.”
- Rep. Horsford
Any return to nuclear explosive testing would not enhance our security—it would undermine it. Russia has already threatened it would respond to any U.S. nuclear testing in kind. It could also prompt other nations to resume testing, escalating global tensions, and increasing the risk of a new arms race.
The U.S. must uphold its moral and global responsibility to prevent nuclear testing and support a safer, more peaceful world.
