U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise late-night call for America to “start testing our Nuclear Weapons” sent shockwaves through Washington on Thursday, overshadowing the confirmation hearing of Vice Adm. Richard Correll, the man nominated to lead the country’s nuclear forces.
Just hours before Correll’s Senate confirmation hearing, Trump announced on social media that the United States “could not fall behind Russia and China,” declaring that “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.” The post reignited fears of a new global arms race and left lawmakers scrambling for answers about the administration’s intentions.
During the 90-minute hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, senators from both parties pressed Correll to clarify whether the president was ordering an end to the 33-year U.S. moratorium on nuclear explosive testing. Correll, cautious in his responses, said his role as commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) would be to provide military advice rather than policy direction. “If confirmed, my role would be to provide military advice on any discussions on the way ahead with respect to testing,” he said.
Lawmakers voiced concern that resuming explosive nuclear tests could destabilize the global balance and provoke other nations to follow suit. Senator Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, warned that such a move could “trigger a global nuclear arms race.” Correll declined to speculate on the president’s intent, even when asked by Senator Angus King whether Trump might have meant testing delivery systems, such as missiles, rather than nuclear detonations. “I don’t have insight into the President’s intent. I agree that could be an interpretation,” Correll replied.
U.S. officials offered no clarification on Thursday, leaving open the possibility that Trump’s remarks referred either to weapons delivery systems or to a resumption of explosive testing, which has been suspended since 1992. Vice President JD Vance defended the idea of testing, saying it was necessary to ensure America’s nuclear arsenal remains reliable. Experts, however, cautioned that actual detonations would heighten tensions and undermine global security. “There is no good reason for the United States to resume explosive nuclear testing — it would actually make everyone in the U.S. less safe,” said Tara Drozdenko of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Analysts suggested Trump’s statement was intended to send a political message to Moscow and Beijing ahead of his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. In his post, Trump said he wanted testing “on an equal basis” and ordered the Pentagon to start “immediately.” Russia has been accused by Washington of conducting low-yield nuclear tests and recently unveiled new nuclear-powered weapons. The Kremlin responded that it would resume testing if any other country did so. China, meanwhile, urged the U.S. to honor its testing moratorium and uphold international commitments under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Nonproliferation experts warned that ending the moratorium could inadvertently benefit U.S. adversaries. “A return to testing will benefit U.S. adversaries by allowing them to catch up in nuclear research and weapons development,” said a statement from Ploughshares, an organization dedicated to reducing nuclear threats. The U.S., which conducted 1,030 nuclear tests between 1945 and 1992, possesses the largest data archive from past experiments and maintains a readiness posture to resume testing within 36 months at its Nevada site.
At the hearing, Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen made her opposition clear, recalling the long-term harm her state suffered from decades of testing. “I’m going to be crystal clear: I will not let this happen. Not on my watch,” she said.
Trump’s abrupt comments, coupled with the lack of official explanation, left Washington uneasy and the global community on edge — reigniting Cold War-era fears that had been dormant for decades. As Correll’s nomination moves forward, the debate over whether the United States will truly restart nuclear testing has become one of the most explosive questions in modern American defense policy.
