The US is confronting a "more dangerous era" marked by simultaneous nuclear competition with China and Russia, lawmakers and defense officials warned at a Senate hearing, as the administration pushed for accelerated modernization of its nuclear arsenal.
At a Congressional hearing, Senator Deb Fischer said the US now faces "the challenge of simultaneously deterring two nuclear adversaries," noting that both countries are expanding and modernizing their nuclear forces.
"This is not a hypothetical future problem, this is a now crisis," said Robert Kadlec, describing China's expansion as "breathtaking and opaque" and warning that Russia continues integrating new nuclear capabilities into its strategy.
David Beck told lawmakers that "Russia and China are engaged in an unprecedented nuclear buildup that is rapidly eroding America's strategic advantage," adding that modernisation of the nuclear stockpile is the "top priority".
Senator Angus King underscored concerns about China's rapid build-up, saying recent intelligence briefings highlight developments "to be taken extremely seriously". At the Pentagon, officials emphasized urgency in delivering next-generation capabilities.
Energy debate heats up in US Senate hearingA Senate hearing on the US energy budget exposed deep partisan divisions, with officials backing fossil fuel support for reliability and critics accusing the administration of raising costs and cutting clean energy programs. At the hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Energy Secretary Christopher Wright defended the administration’s strategy, saying the focus was on “delivering reliable, affordable, and secure energy for the American people.” Wright argued that recent actions were necessary to prevent power shortages as demand rises. He said the department used emergency authority to keep key power plants running, warning that outage risks could otherwise “increase up to 100-fold by 2030.” |
