Council: Front and Center: May 16, 2026

TRUMP: I TALK ABOUT DENUCLEARIZATION WITH CHINA ALL THE TIME

The eyes of the world were on Beijing this week as President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi met for a highly anticipated bilateral summit. It was reported that the leaders emphasized interest in a stable relationship between the two countries, discussing enhanced economic cooperation and market access as well as the need for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open. However, warnings from President Xi about the Taiwan issue dominated headlines, with China indicating that the two countries could clash over Taiwan if not handled properly.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated the warning on X, posting “If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.” These concerns come with the Trump administration’s recent approval of an $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan. NBC reports that Trump said he raised denuclearization on his visit — “I talk about it all the time with Russia and with China, and it did come up” — and initially got a “very positive response” though he gave no other information.

REVISED NORTH KOREAN CONSTITUTION AFFIRMS AUTOMATIC NUCLEAR ATTACK IF LEADERS TARGETED

North Korea’s revised constitution confirms earlier reports about changes, including to its nuclear command and control structure. Leader Kim Jong Un has direct command and control over the country’s nuclear weapons and the revised constitution establishes that in a crisis, Kim may delegate authority for a nuclear counterstrike to the Nuclear Forces Command. Korea watchers believe this delegation confirms that North Korea will launch a nuclear counterstrike if Kim and other core leaders are targeted in an attack or invasion.

Meanwhile, as nearly every other country sent a delegation to the United Nations to discuss the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), North Korea’s envoy to the United Nations issued a statement declaring that the country would not be bound by the NPT, will remain a nuclear-armed state and will strengthen its capabilities.

IRAN STILL HAS NUCLEAR MATERIAL, NO NEW DEAL IN SIGHT, NEARLY THREE MONTHS AFTER WAR BEGAN

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that “Operation Epic Fury” in Iran was “completed” with U.S. focus now shifted to “Project Freedom” and efforts to move traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iran still has its nuclear material and the two sides have yet to reach an agreement. The metrics by which the administration is defining success in Iran are as murky to those outside the White House as its motivations for launching Operation Epic Fury in the first place. We continue to see a stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz with the United States continuing to redirect vessels.

Instead, we are seeing shocking oil prices and mounting costs of war. Despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s refusal to provide a breakdown of these costs during a recent congressional hearing, the Pentagon’s acting comptroller, Jules Hurst, said the war’s estimated price tag has risen closer to $29 billion (from the initial $25 billion estimate).

When asked by reporters if Americans’ financial situations were motivating him to strike a deal with Iran, President Trump responded “not even a little bit…I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.” He finished the statement by saying, “I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.” The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (better known as the Iran nuclear deal), from which Trump pulled out in his first term, barred Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.

RUSSIA MAKES INCREASED TERRITORIAL CLAIMS DESPITE BATTLEFIELD SETBACKS

This week, Russia carried out what was billed as the largest two-day aerial attack since the start of the war in Ukraine, hitting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, have expanded their long-range drone attacks and struck energy infrastructure deeper within Russian territory. Ukrainian forces also continue to make territorial advances while Russian forces struggle to advance in the so-called “Fortress Belt.” Notably, Russia drastically scaled back its May 9 Victory Day parade over fears Ukraine could target it.

These military exchanges come as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated new Russian territorial ambitions. On May 13, he argued Ukrainian forces must withdraw from the Donbas region as a prerequisite for further negotiations to end the war. On May 15, President Donald Trump said a Russian missile strike on Kyiv that killed 24 people could set back peace efforts.

GOLDEN DOME GETS NEW PRICE TAG BUT STILL LACKS DETAIL

At the request of Council endorsee Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an updated cost analysis on President Trump’s so-called “Golden Dome” missile defense system this week. Experts in the nuclear policy community, including at the Council, have long argued that President Trump’s assertion that the whole system would cost $175 billion was way off. CBO’s thinking seems to be more in line with ours as they priced the system at more than $1.2 trillion.

Also notable in CBO’s cost estimate is the continued lack of detail about Golden Dome from the Pentagon. Indeed, CBO’s summary states that “Although documents from [the Pentagon’s] budget request for the 2027 fiscal year provide five-year projections of funding plans for GDA, details about what and how many systems will be deployed—the ‘objective architecture’—have not been released, making it impossible to estimate the long-term cost of the [Golden Dome] system being contemplated.”

PENTAGON HYPER-CHARGES PURCHASE GOALS OF NEW WEAPONS

Tucked within the Pentagon’s outrageous fiscal year 2027 budget request are plans for the U.S. government to invest heavily in hypersonic weapons. Across the Army, Navy and Air Force, potentially thousands of these new intermediate-range missiles are to be tested and purchased in coming years. The price tag is in the billions of dollars. Perhaps most unsettling is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent comment during a congressional hearing that a hypersonic follow-on to the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) is also being considered. Such a weapons would be highly destabilizing and almost certainly illicit a response from Russia and China. Former Council research analyst Shawn Rostker detailed the drawbacks of hypersonic weapons in a piece for RealClear Defense last year.

NUCLEAR TESTING MORATORIUM ONE POINT OF CONTENTION AT GLOBAL NON-PROLIFERATION CONFERENCE

From April 27 to May 27, representatives from 191 governments are gathered at the United Nations in New York for the 11th Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, known as RevCon. Here, they are tasked with assessing, reaffirming and advancing the treaty’s goals of nuclear non-proliferation, the peaceful use of nuclear technology under international safeguards, and disarmament. This conference, which takes place every five years, comes at an especially challenging time given the recent threats of renewed nuclear testing in the United States, the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), concerns from U.S. allies about U.S. security guarantees and renewed arsenal buildup around the globe.

It appears that despite efforts to find common ground, the NPT states’ parties continue to be mired in disagreement, with major points of contention relating to reaffirming past NPT commitments, respect for the nuclear testing moratorium, and language related to the ongoing wars on Ukraine and Iran, among other issues. It is yet to be seen whether the conference will be able to arrive at a final consensus document, as is the goal of the gathering, to bolster and reaffirm support for the treaty and chart out concrete action steps for the next five years. It is also unclear whether the U.S. delegation will serve as a leader in advancing these goals or a spoiler in undermining them. For the first time ever, the U.S. delegation is not led by a Senate-confirmed ambassador with any prior NPT experience.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REQUESTS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS, MISSILE DEFENSE, PLUTONIUM PITS

Late last month, the Pentagon released additional details of its fiscal year 2027 budget request. You’ve likely already seen the outrageous $1.5 TRILLION top line for military spending. Our sister organization, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, produced its usual analysis of nuclear weapons programs within the request. The numbers there are worrying:

• $98 billion for nuclear-related programs — nearly three times what was requested for what’s left of State and USAID, and $11 billion more than last year’s request
• Nearly double for missile defense over last year to $85.8 billion, much of which is set to be provided by the non-transparent reconciliation process
• Significant increases for Columbia class submarines, B-52 bomber procurement and plutonium pit production

In all the years we’ve been doing this analysis, we’ve never had to use so many asterisks and caveats when trying to understand and explain an administration’s funding request, thanks to anticipated reconciliation requests and accounting that seems “creative” at best. This will be a major focus of our advocacy as we move into defense authorization season.

HEGSETH REFUSES TO ANSWER SIMPLE PENTAGON BUDGET QUESTIONS

Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared before the Armed Services and Appropriations committees in the House and Senate this week. Rather than provide details about his department’s eye-watering budget request, or answer lawmakers’ questions about a lack of transparency on spending last year’s reconciliation funds, Hegseth decided to antagonize Members of Congress. He toned down his rhetoric in front of appropriators but was still unable to provide much detail on the billions of extra dollars Congress provided for the Pentagon last year.

DEMOCRATS, MANY OF THEM VETERANS, INTRODUCE BILL TO BLOCK WAR FUNDING

Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY-18) led a group of House Democrats, many of whom served in the military, in introducing the No Funds for Iran War Act. The legislation prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars for military action against Iran in the absence of a congressional authorization. In addition to other Democratic veterans, ranking members of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees co-sponsored the bill.

STUDENTS LEARN VALUABLE DIPLOMACY LESSONS IN ARMS CONTROL SIMULATION

Senior Policy Director John Erath led a group of American University students through a simulation of multilateral arms control in which participants were tasked with finalizing a fictional treaty regulating the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in nuclear command and control systems. They learned five key lessons, Erath writes in a new post on the Nukes of Hazard blog, including that arms control negotiations are harder than they look and take more time than they seem like they might. “Real world arms control is painstakingly detailed and can take years,” he writes. “As one participant put it, ‘Now I understand better why it’s a bad idea to send your real estate guy to try to end nuclear proliferation in a weekend.'”

NEWEST ENDORSED CANDIDATE IS DOCTOR WITH GREAT VOTING RECORD

So far, we have endorsed 16 candidates for this cycle, with more coming soon — including two Senate candidates. Our newest endorsee is Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03), a pulmonologist whose district is anchored in Portland and the surrounding areas. Still in her first term, Rep. Dexter co-sponsored a resolution urging the reversal of the nuclear arms race as well as legislation to restrict President Trump’s war in Iran. She has also opposed a resumption of explosive nuclear weapons testing.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we announce additional new candidates from across the country who can inject some much-needed leadership and opposition to the Trump administration’s heinous policies.

Consider supporting Council-endorsed candidates today and help us shape the leadership in the next Congress.

For the next 6 months, we’ll list all of our endorsed candidates at the bottom of this newsletter along with their bios and donation links. If you’d like to donate to more than one House candidate or more than one Senate candidate, or donate to one or more candidates in each chamber, bookmark these links, which we’ll update through November every time we make a new endorsement: all endorsed House candidates | all endorsed Senate candidates | all endorsed candidates.

CONSIDER BECOMING A MONTHLY DONOR

As election season nears, the Council is also hard at work on its advocacy on Capitol Hill. Have you considered making a monthly donation to support our efforts to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear threats through political action? You can donate as little as $1 a month. Become a monthly supporter today!

2026 ENDORSED CANDIDATES