Nov. 21, 2025
1:00-2:00 PM Eastern Time
The global moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions is facing one of its most acute crises since the late-1990s following U.S. President Donald Trump’s confusing Oct. 30 announcement that he had “instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons.”
If the United States resumes nuclear testing, other countries, such as Russia, North Korea, and perhaps China, will likely follow suit, which would escalate the nuclear arms race and increase global tensions.
In this moment of uncertainty as the U.S. testing moratorium hangs in the balance, the Arms Control Association (ACA) has assembled a group of leading experts on nuclear testing to discuss the implications of Trump’s move.
Our panel will assess what the White House and the Energy Department have said regarding the president’s comments, explain what the United States and the world at large stand to lose from a resumption of nuclear explosive testing, address practical technical questions regarding what it would take to resume full-scale and low-yield testing, provide an update on how Congress and U.S. allies and adversaries are reacting to the president’s words, and outline what can be done to to reinforce the global norm against nuclear explosive testing.
Panelists:
- Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01), member of the House of Representatives and author of Bombs in the Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics (2001)
- Corey Hinderstein, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former acting principal deputy administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration
- Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, and a veteran of the campaign to end U.S. nuclear testing, secure the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and reinforce the global test moratorium
To RSVP for the virtual (Zoom) briefing, register here.
A moderated question and answer session will follow the panel’s remarks. To submit a question during the event, please use the Zoom Q&A function.
This event is open to the press and is on the record.