November 4, 2025 - WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), joined by Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04), led members of the Nevada Congressional delegation in sending a letter to the Trump Administration expressing their outrage over the President’s directive to resume nuclear testing. The letter, which was sent to President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Brandon Williams, also asked for clarity on what exactly resuming nuclear testing would entail, and whether President Trump could commit to not resuming explosive nuclear testing, which would pose a significant risk to the American people. 

On January 27, 1951, the first atmospheric nuclear test was detonated at the NTS in Nevada, code-named “Able.”

Related: During a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing Nevada U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen ‘Slams’ President Trump’s Reckless Comments About Restarting Nuclear Testing

“We write to express our outrage and unequivocal opposition to President Trump’s reckless directive to resume explosive nuclear weapons testing and to demand clarification. While Secretary Wright has tried to clarify President Trump’s Truth Social post, the president’s directive announced last week on Truth Social is unnecessary, dangerous, and scientifically unjustified. It threatens to reawaken one of the darkest chapters in Nevada’s history, endangers American lives, and undermines decades of bipartisan work to keep our nation and the world safe from the devastation of nuclear war,” wrote the members.

“[T]o even contemplate detonating nuclear weapons on American soil is a betrayal of science, safety, and the American people. This rash move also risks igniting a new global nuclear arms race, signaling to adversaries that the U.S. is abandoning its leadership and commitment to restraint and nonproliferation,” the members continued. “No country except for North Korea has conducted an explosive nuclear test in this century. This sudden reversal weakens our diplomatic credibility, endangers our allies, and undermines international security.”

Read the full letter HERE.

This year, Senator Rosen has led the fight to prevent the resumption of explosive nuclear testing in Nevada. She secured commitments from several Trump administration officials during their confirmation hearings to not resume nuclear testing, and that they would not recommend a resumption of testing. These included National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Brandon Williams, Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Vice Admiral Scott Pappano (Ret.), and the nominee to be National Nuclear Security Administration Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Dave Beck.

Source: Senator Jacky Rosen