Senate Dems Press Biden Admin To Shrink Nuclear Weapons Arsenal
Lawmakers propose funding cuts, keeping Vietnam-era missile program
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) / Getty Images
Jack Beyrer • July 9, 2021 4:30 pm
Senate Democrats are pressuring the Biden administration to cut construction of a critical missile program even as China and Russia drastically increase their firepower, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), the authors of the letter, are urging national security adviser Jake Sullivan to alter the administration's stance on nuclear weapons in the 2022 defense budget. The letter comes as Democrats strive to shutter the advanced nuclear program in favor of technology that was first tested by the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. The senators' campaign puts them at odds with the Biden administration's senior Pentagon officials, who have expressed support for nuclear modernization. The lawmakers' direct appeal to the National Security Council presents a litmus test for where the White House stands on the vital issue.
"We write to express concern regarding [the] President's FY22 budget requests for nuclear weapon modernization," Merkley and Warren wrote. "The high funding levels suggest that the Biden administration embraces its predecessor's reckless mission to build new nuclear weapons. … We believe that the Trump-era nuclear buildup must be halted."
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/senate-dems-press-biden-administration-to-shrink-nuclear-weapons-arsenal/
