Energy secretary details how government shutdown impacts US nuclear stockpile
Energy Secretary Chris Wright joins 'The Sunday Briefing' to discuss the impact of the government shutdown on nuclear modernization, plans for testing, AI-driven energy demand and efforts to expand U.S. power generation capacity.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright blasted Democrats on Sunday, calling it "deeply irresponsible" that the ongoing government shutdown has forced the Trump administration to furlough nuclear weapons contractors.
"It's deeply irresponsible to see the Democrats run this more than a month now, and unfortunately, we ran out of budget gymnastics we could play, and we have to start furloughing workers who are developing our next-generation nuclear weapons and nuclear stockpile," Wright said on "The Sunday Briefing."
"This is very frustrating to me and angering, frankly," he added.
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Chris Wright, U.S. energy secretary, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday, Oct. 6. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Wright emphasized that the nation’s existing nuclear arsenal remains secure, but warned that the furloughs are halting progress on modernization programs crucial to maintaining U.S. dominance.
If the government doesn’t reopen soon, he cautioned, "bigger ramifications" could be on the horizon.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists aboard Air Force One en route to South Korea on Oct. 29, 2025 in Japan. Trump recently announced plans to restart nuclear testing. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Bigger ramifications in slowing down the modernizing of our nuclear stockpile," he explained. "But is he [Trump] passionate about keeping us in the lead militarily? Absolutely he is."
Wright’s comments come days after Trump announced plans to restart nuclear weapons testing, a move to ensure America's program maintains global parity.
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Wright said that much of the current testing will involve "system tests" rather than nuclear explosions.
"These are what we call non-critical explosions," he added. "So you're testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry, and they set up the nuclear explosion."
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
