{"id":44972,"date":"2019-02-14T10:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-14T10:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:40:12","slug":"is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Following the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, which called for long-term investment in modernizing America\u2019s nuclear arsenal, Congress seemed to strike a general consensus on nukes: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/air-force-association\/2017\/09\/19\/new-nuclear-cruise-missile-program-appears-safe-going-forward\/\" target=\"_blank\">New investments in weapons<\/a> would go hand in hand with arms reduction efforts such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2017\/02\/23\/trump-threats-to-new-start-could-imperil-nuclear-modernization-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\">New START treaty<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It wasn\u2019t perfect, and not everyone was on board. But on the whole, the balance allowed the investments in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2018\/12\/07\/blink-and-youll-miss-it-the-b-21-bomber-accomplishes-another-big-review\/\" target=\"_blank\">new bombers<\/a>, nuclear warheads, long-range missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles to go through with little challenge from Democrats, while ensuring New START would receive support from Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Years later, the landscape looks very different, which could have major consequences as the Trump administration attempts to push its own priorities from the Nuclear Posture Review through a Democratic-controlled House.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/01\/30\/warren-smith-introduce-bill-to-bar-us-from-using-nuclear-weapons-first\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18333796630666.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Warren, Smith introduce bill to bar US from using nuclear weapons first<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Two key Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation Wednesday to ensure the U.S. does not fire nuclear weapons first in a potential future war.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat consensus is fragile, and I think it\u2019s fraying a little bit. It\u2019s fraying on Capitol Hill,\u201d Christopher Hanson, a staffer with the Democratic minority on the Senate Appropriations Committee\u2019s energy and water development panel, said Feb. 12 at the annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit. That subcommittee oversees the funding of the nuclear weapons enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not sure that people still understand what the nuclear deterrent is,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of turnover on Capitol Hill the last 10 years. A lot of turnover in this town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hanson\u2019s colleague from the Republican majority staff, Adam DeMella, concurred that the consensus seems to be breaking. DeMella seemed to point to a lack of engagement from the current administration to Congress on these issues as part of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf folks walk away from New START without building a consensus first, without communicating &#8230; those are the kind of things that ramp down the consensus,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen folks just make an edict and say, &#8216;This is what we\u2019re doing, this is the plan\u2019 &#8230; there has to be a partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWithout consensus, it\u2019s really hard to do things, and its even harder to do things that are big. And everything nuclear is big because it\u2019s expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nuclear consensus was rocked early in the Trump administration, with President Donald Trump declaring after less than a month in office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2017\/02\/23\/trump-threats-to-new-start-could-imperil-nuclear-modernization-programs\/\" target=_blank>that the agreement<\/a> was \u201ca one-sided deal&#8221; and a \u201cbad deal,\u201d and pledged that \u201cif countries are going to have nukes, we\u2019re going to be at the top of the pack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The situation only got rockier with the January 2018 release of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/02\/02\/nuclear-posture-review-puts-russia-firmly-in-crosshairs\/\" target=_blank>Nuclear Posture Review<\/a>, which called for the creation of two new nuclear capabilities \u2014 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/01\/28\/trumps-new-nuclear-weapon-has-entered-production\/\" target=_blank>low-yield warhead<\/a> for submarine-launched ballistic missiles and a submarine-launched nuclear cruise missile \u2014 that Democrats quickly denounced as the start of a new arms race.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-triad\/2018\/02\/02\/the-us-could-be-getting-2-new-nuclear-capabilities-here-are-the-details\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/navytomhawk_Resize.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The US could be getting 2 new nuclear capabilities. Here are the details.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Pentagon wants to put two new nuclear capabilities into the Navy. Here&#039;s what you need to know.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The situation doesn\u2019t appear to have improved for advocates of nuclear spending in the wake of November\u2019s elections, which saw Democrats take the House and several veteran members of the Senate Armed Services Committee be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Harvey, who as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs from 2009-2013 was one of the key authors of the 2010 NPR, said at the summit that he sees little change in the SASC\u2019s stance toward modernization, as new members are largely in favor of the development plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The House, however, is a wild card. On the one hand, House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., has been vocal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2018\/11\/14\/smith-aims-to-scrap-trumps-nuclear-weapons-policy\/\" target=_blank>about his desire<\/a> to cut nuclear programs. On the other, Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., who runs the subcommittee that oversees strategic weapons, supports nuclear modernization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether Smith lets Cooper handle the details in his committee or even brings nukes into the broader HASC discussion will matter greatly, Harvey predicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s a lot of moving parts; or as DeMella put it: Thanks to the split Congress, the delayed budget and the upcoming threat over budget caps returning, \u201cthis year\u2019s gonna be, again, interesting and weird.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For his part, Harvey thinks there are three steps the administration can take to build support for the nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2019\/01\/24\/heres-how-many-billions-the-us-will-spend-on-nuclear-weapons-over-the-next-decade\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635919984409740725-b2-airforce-redflagjpg_587d20.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Here\u2019s how many billions the US will spend on nuclear weapons over the next decade<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Expect the U.S. to spend a lot of money over the next decade on building up its nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou should make clear that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/23\/one-nuclear-treaty-is-dead-is-new-start-next\/\" target=_blank>extending New START<\/a> and continued Democrat support for modernization are a package. [Tell them] you can\u2019t have one without the other,\u201d Harvey said. Second, renew efforts to engage Russia on arms control initiatives that are in America\u2019s security interests, including attempts to reduce \u201cthe large disparity of U.S. and Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons and more productive dialogue on strategic stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such efforts might prove to be a dead end, as they have in the past, but Harvey argued that \u201csuch efforts, even if unrealized, could help ease the perception that Mr. Trump and his team are hostile to arms control and thereby strengthen bipartisan support for modernization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lastly, Harvey called for increased dialogue about Russian behavior since the annexation of Crimea. \u201cWhen you hear the debate on nuclear forces, very little do you hear from those who think we should do more in constraining modernization talk about the Russia problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DeMella and Hanson agreed that education on nuclear issues is key, both on the Hill and in the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe more information a person gets, the more likely they are to understand\u201d nuclear issues, he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not doing the work we need to do to make sure people understand how the pieces of the puzzle fit together so that they don\u2019t say things they later have a hard time backing off.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For years, Congress had a delicate balance between arms control and funding for nuclear weapons. That balance is wobbly these days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":66304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":124,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[8,160,36,124,30],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3378],"class_list":["post-44972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-nuclear-arsenal","category-smr"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"QN6VHVZ4CFBD3KYIVJE6G7ESJQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress? - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For years, Congress had a delicate balance between arms control and funding for nuclear weapons. That balance is wobbly these days.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For years, Congress had a delicate balance between arms control and funding for nuclear weapons. That balance is wobbly these days.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-14T10:00:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T23:40:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress?\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-14T10:00:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:40:12+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 903,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Nuclear Arsenal\",\n\t                \"Special Multimedia Reports\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress? - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-14T10:00:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:40:12+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"For years, Congress had a delicate balance between arms control and funding for nuclear weapons. That balance is wobbly these days.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/14\\\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Special Multimedia Reports\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"smr\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Nuclear Arsenal\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/nuclear-arsenal\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"nuclear-arsenal\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress?\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress? - Defense News","description":"For years, Congress had a delicate balance between arms control and funding for nuclear weapons. That balance is wobbly these days.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress?","og_description":"For years, Congress had a delicate balance between arms control and funding for nuclear weapons. That balance is wobbly these days.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2019-02-14T10:00:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T23:40:12+00:00","author":"Aaron Mehta","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aaron Mehta","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress?","datePublished":"2019-02-14T10:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T23:40:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/"},"wordCount":903,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg","articleSection":["Congress","Daily News Roundup","Newsletters","Nuclear Arsenal","Special Multimedia Reports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/","name":"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress? - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-14T10:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T23:40:12+00:00","description":"For years, Congress had a delicate balance between arms control and funding for nuclear weapons. That balance is wobbly these days.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/14\/is-there-a-way-to-save-the-fraying-nuclear-consensus-in-congress\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Special Multimedia Reports","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/","ad_zone":"smr"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Nuclear Arsenal","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/","ad_zone":"nuclear-arsenal"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Is there a way to save the \u2018fraying\u2019 nuclear consensus in Congress?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ALCM_LRSO_Resize.jpg_717466.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44974,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44972\/revisions\/44974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44972"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=44972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}