{"id":20345,"date":"2025-01-17T19:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20345"},"modified":"2025-01-17T20:31:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:31:44","slug":"trump-picks-ex-congressman-to-manage-u-s-nuclear-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20345","title":{"rendered":"Trump Picks Ex-Congressman to Manage U.S. Nuclear Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">Brandon Williams served aboard a nuclear submarine and represented a New York congressional district for one term, but has said little about his experience in the management of atomic weapons.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President-elect Donald J. Trump has picked Brandon Williams, a former Navy officer and one-term congressman, to become the keeper of the nation\u2019s arsenal of thousands of nuclear bombs and warheads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump\u2019s selection is a shift from a tradition in which the people who served as administrator of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/nnsa\/national-nuclear-security-administration\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">National Nuclear Security Administration<\/a> typically had deep technical roots or experience in the nation\u2019s atomic complex. What\u2019s unknown publicly is the extent of Mr. Williams\u2019 experience in the knotty intricacies of how the weapons work and how they are kept reliable for decades without ever being ignited.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/terry-wallace-34454435\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Terry C. Wallace<\/a> Jr., a former director of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lanl.gov\/about\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Los Alamos weapons laboratory<\/a> in New Mexico, expressed surprise at Mr. Trump\u2019s pick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Wallace said he had \u201cnever met him or had a meeting\u201d with Mr. Williams and characterized him as having \u201cvery limited experience\u201d with the N.N.S.A.\u2019s missions, based on his own decades of work in and around the nation\u2019s atomic complex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/fas.org\/expert\/hans-kristensen\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Hans M. Kristensen<\/a>, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said Mr. Williams \u201cwill be facing an incredibly complex, technical job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Williams did not return calls for comment on his selection by Mr. Trump or his credentials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The credentials and credibility of whoever becomes N.N.S.A.\u2019s new leader may face close scrutiny because advisers to Mr. Trump <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/05\/science\/nuclear-testing-trump.html\" title>have suggested<\/a> that the incoming administration may propose a restart to the nation\u2019s explosive testing of nuclear arms. That step, daunting both technically and politically, would end U.S. adherence to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.armscontrol.org\/factsheets\/comprehensive-test-ban-treaty-glance\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a global test ban<\/a> that sought to end decades of costly and destabilizing arms races.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Ftrump-brandon-williams-nuclear-weapons.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Ftrump-brandon-williams-nuclear-weapons.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Ftrump-brandon-williams-nuclear-weapons.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Ftrump-brandon-williams-nuclear-weapons.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brandon Williams served aboard a nuclear submarine and represented a New York congressional district for one term, but has said little about his experience in the management of atomic weapons.President-elect Donald J. Trump has picked Brandon Williams, a former Navy officer and one-term congressman, to become the keeper of the nation\u2019s arsenal of thousands of nuclear bombs and warheads.Mr. Trump\u2019s selection is a shift from a tradition in which the people who served as administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration typically had deep technical roots or experience in the nation\u2019s atomic complex. What\u2019s unknown publicly is the extent of Mr. Williams\u2019 experience in the knotty intricacies of how the weapons work and how they are kept reliable for decades without ever being ignited.Terry C. Wallace Jr., a former director of the Los Alamos weapons laboratory in New Mexico, expressed surprise at Mr. Trump\u2019s pick.Dr. Wallace said he had \u201cnever met him or had a meeting\u201d with Mr. Williams and characterized him as having \u201cvery limited experience\u201d with the N.N.S.A.\u2019s missions, based on his own decades of work in and around the nation\u2019s atomic complex.Hans M. Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said Mr. Williams \u201cwill be facing an incredibly complex, technical job.\u201dMr. Williams did not return calls for comment on his selection by Mr. Trump or his credentials.The credentials and credibility of whoever becomes N.N.S.A.\u2019s new leader may face close scrutiny because advisers to Mr. Trump have suggested that the incoming administration may propose a restart to the nation\u2019s explosive testing of nuclear arms. That step, daunting both technically and politically, would end U.S. adherence to a global test ban that sought to end decades of costly and destabilizing arms races.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20347,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20345"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20348,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20345\/revisions\/20348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}