By: Minka Koskinen

President Trump has declared he will have the Pentagon test the United States’ nuclear stockpile, catching many officials off guard. Trump’s reason for resuming testing has been stated to be in response to the actions of other nations building their arsenals and weapons.

Trump posted on Truth Social, “I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”

While Trump has called for the Department of Defense to take on this task, historically it has been the Department of Energy, which has been in charge of nuclear testing.

When probed about whether or not the testing will consist of resuming underground nuclear detonation tests, Trump responded, “You’ll find out very soon.”

Nuclear testing has been on pause for 33 years, and reports of other countries conducting tests such as Russia and China have not occurred since the 1990s. This has left many wondering what tests are foreign nations conducting that Trump is referring to.

Aside from the growing questions on what exactly is meant by the testing, other concerns are being raised. What impact will nuclear testing in any form have on foreign nations? Some fear the resumption of testing could cause other nations to feel an imbalance of power. What will their response be?

Only time will give us the answers to these questions.