House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Thursday slammed President Trump’s plan to restart U.S. nuclear weapons testing, calling it a blatant violation of international law.
“It appears the resumption of nuclear testing would be a massive breach of international treaties that have been in place for decades,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol. “And it’s just another example of Donald Trump and Republican policies going too far [and] being divorced from reality.”
President Trump recently touted the U.S. nuclear arsenal as the world’s largest but warned that China is rapidly advancing and “will be even within 5 years.”
“Because of other countries … testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump posted on Truth Social shortly before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “That process will begin immediately.”
Jeffries also criticized Trump by claiming he’s prioritizing foreign trips and international issues over the government shutdown, which could soon disrupt aid for low-income Americans. He said Trump’s nuclear testing pledge shows “Donald Trump and Republicans are not focused on the main thing that the American people want us in the Congress to address.”
“Which is why, as Democrats, we’re going to continue to relentlessly focus on driving down the high cost of living in this country, and fixing the health care system that Republicans have broken,” Jeffries added.
However, Trump’s Republican allies in Congress praised the remarks, calling them a display of American strength intended to promote global peace.
“The idea that he would make a public statement stating that he would want our nuclear arsenal to be fully prepared, it’s a deterrent, and that’s an important show of force for us,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Thursday during a press briefing in the Capitol.
Hakeem Jeffries is upset that President Trump is meeting with Chinese leaders for trade and Hamas for peace in the Middle East.
This is called being a president.
Maybe his standards were lowered too much under Biden, but Trump is carrying out the duties he was elected to do. pic.twitter.com/yrpY4vzCoi
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) October 30, 2025
