TRUMP'S NUCLEAR TESTING: Democrats and peace activists are denouncing Trump's order for the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing after more than 30 years of a moratorium.
Trump made the announcement just before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea at the end of his Asia trip this week. He said the Defense Department would test nuclear weapons on an equal basis to Russia and China.
It came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin tested a nuclear-capable cruise missile and nuclear-powered underwater drone. The New York Times reports the tests Putin confirmed Wednesday did not involve a detonation, and a Kremlin spokesman told Russian news agencies he hoped Trump had been properly briefed on the tests. Russia would respond in kind if another country resumed nuclear testing for the first time since the 1990s, he said.
China has also doubled the size of its nuclear arsenal in the past five years, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, but it hasn't conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1996. Of the world's nine nuclear-armed countries, only North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon since 1998, according to an analysis last year from the Arms Control Association.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) slammed Trump's decision to resume testing as a violation of international law.
Most countries around the world have joined the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to prohibit nuclear tests. The United States has signed the treaty but not ratified it.
"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 at the Capitol. "And it's just another example of Donald Trump and Republican policies going too far [and] being divorced from reality."
Peace organizations and advocates also criticized the move, arguing that it could restart an arms race with U.S. adversaries and take a long time to restart testing.
Daryl Kimball, the director of the Arms Control Association, said it would take at least 36 months before contained nuclear tests could resume at the former nuclear test site in Nevada.
"By foolishly announcing his intention resume nuclear testing, Trump will trigger strong public opposition in Nevada, from all U.S. allies, and it could trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by U.S. adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty," Kimball wrote on the social platform X.
But Trump's allies defended the move, with Johnson saying that testing would act as a deterrent.
"The commander in chief wants us to be fully prepared. We are the last great superpower on the earth. China intends to be a near peer-to-peer advisory to us. But in order to maintain peace around the world, you have to show strength, and that's what the president believes in. That's what he's demonstrated over and over," Johnson told reporters.
Johnson said members of the military would be willing to contribute to help make the tests happen.
If the tests ultimately happen, it would mark a significant change in U.S. policy, as former President George H.W. Bush started the moratorium on tests in 1992, one year after the end of the Cold War.
▪ The Hill: "Trump's frustration with Putin goes nuclear, dividing Congress."
▪ CNBC: Russia on guard after Trump's renewal of nuclear testing.
DEMS FRUSTRATED ABOUT BOAT STRIKES: Democrats are also irritated following a classified briefing on the Trump administration's military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Hill's Filip Timotija reports that Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee said they weren't satisfied with the answers they received about the strikes, and they remained unclear about their legality.
For weeks, the administration has conducted a series of strikes on boats that it alleges were attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.S., killing dozens. But the administration hasn't provided evidence that the boats were smuggling drugs and hasn't publicly revealed a legal rationale for the strikes.
"Our job is to oversee the use of lethal force by our military outside of the United States, and I'm walking away without an understanding of how and why they're making an assessment that the use of lethal force is adequate here," Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former U.S. Army officer, told reporters after the briefing.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said administration lawyers were set to explain the legal backing for the strikes on both sides of South America, but "they canceled at the last minute."
The strikes have come as tensions are reaching a boiling point between the U.S. and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has increased its military presence in the Caribbean, recently directing the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group into the region.
That's along with warships, spy planes, F-35s and a submarine that have also been sent to the area.
The U.S. has accused Maduro of being involved in the flow of fentanyl into the country, which Maduro has denied.
A White House spokesperson told The Hill that Democrats are pushing "bogus claims" about the strikes to distract the public and said the Pentagon has held nine bipartisan briefings on them.
But lawmakers in both parties have for weeks asked the administration for a legal rationale for the strikes and more evidence that those on the boats were smuggling drugs.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chair of the Armed Services Committee, said more briefings would occur.
DOJ PRESSURE: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is facing pressure to reject Trump's request for a $230 million settlement for its investigations into the president, as critics note various ethics issues with the request.
Trump has portrayed himself as a victim of the department's investigations into his 2016 campaign's alleged ties to Russia, which were ultimately unproven, and his alleged mishandling of classified and sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago.
But The Hill's Rebecca Beitsch reports that the decision about whether Trump should receive a settlement would fall to a group of attorneys who formerly represented him. And one former department staffer said most agreements from the department are for tens of thousands or at most hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"What is unusual here is the fact that the president is making a demand for money from his own administration, which raises all sorts of ethical problems," said Rupa Bhattacharyya, who worked in the Torts Branch of the department's Civil Division.
Beitsch reports that it's the type of decision that would fall to top-ranking officials such as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
Blanche served as Trump's personal attorney, while Woodward represented one of Trump's alleged co-conspirators in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. Both signed agreements requiring them to recuse themselves from matters involving the president for one year.
The department has said it would follow ethical obligations, and what progress has been made on the request is unclear. It has six months to consider a claim for a settlement, after which the party can pursue a claim in court.
But the department would have the same ethical issues in court. Trump could turn to Congress to ask for the money, but that would face constitutional issues, making the path ahead uncertain.
▪ The Guardian: Experts say Trump's settlement request would be rejected if he were anyone else.
SENATE TARIFF VOTE: Four Senate Republicans on Thursday broke ranks to vote with all Democrats to repeal Trump's global tariffs, approving the bipartisan resolution.
The tariffs that the resolution calls to repeal include those on long-time allies such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.) voted for the measure.
The resolution almost certainly won't advance in the Republican-controlled House, but the four senators' voting to end the tariffs is still notable and relatively unusual in the Trump era. The same resolution failed in April in a 50-49 vote after Vice President Vance broke a tie.
The vote came after the Senate passed resolutions earlier in the week to end Trump's tariffs on Canada and Brazil. Neither of these resolutions is expected to get votes in the Senate either.
The Republican Party had for much of its recent history been in favor of free trade with few barriers, but Trump changed its position after running on a platform of protectionism in 2016, arguing that other countries were taking advantage of the U.S. The GOP has mostly gotten behind his position since then, though a handful have remained skeptical.
▪ Politico: Farm-state Republicans reach their breaking point.
▪ The Guardian: Halloween candy prices rising from Trump tariffs, climate change.
TRUMP OFFICIALS MOVE ONTO BASES: Multiple Trump administration officials have reportedly taken up residences on military bases, filing spaces traditionally intended for military officers.
The Atlantic and The New York Times reported that multiple Cabinet members have moved into residences that until recently housed senior officers.
It isn't unprecedented for some Cabinet officials to live in military housing. But many Trump officials have made the move, limiting the availability of housing for top military officers, the outlets reported.
The officials include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
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