President Donald Trump's own officials are reportedly begging him to reverse course over his suggestion to ramp up explosive nuclear testing, according to reports on Friday.
CNN's Betsy Klein told CNN anchor Brianna Keilar that top energy and nuclear officials are planning to meet at the White House in the coming days in an attempt to dissuade President Trump from resuming testing of the nation's nuclear weapons.
"Well, Brianna, you might remember that absolutely stunning announcement from President Trump on social media just moments before he was set to meet with China's leader, Xi Jinping in Asia just a couple of weeks ago, that he was directing the Pentagon to immediately begin testing of U.S. nuclear weapons on an equal basis. And that would mark a major shift in U.S. policy," Klein said.
The U.S. has not tested nuclear weapons since about 1992, during the George H.W. Bush administration.
"The U.S. does today, however, test every part of its nuclear weapons systems except for the explosive material in those nuclear weapons, Trump recently told '60 Minutes' when asked about this that he was doing so because Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, had announced that Russia had successfully tested a Poseidon nuclear torpedo, and he said, 'I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test.' But now we are learning that top energy and nuclear officials are set to brief the White House and the National Security Council in the coming days and attempt to steer the president away from this," Klein explained.
Trump was slated to arrive in Florida on Friday. Ultimately, the testing would be his decision, she added.
"Two sources familiar with the matter say that Energy Secretary Chris Wright, along with the National Nuclear Security Administration leader Brandon Williams, as well as officials from the U.S. National Laboratories, are planning to inform the White House in this meeting that they do not think that blowing up weapons for nuclear testing is a tenable strategy," Klein said.
"These officials, according to one source, are prepared to tell the Trump administration that there's not going to be any testing and attempt to steer the White House into what they feel is a more workable plan, according to these sources, that doesn't involve blowing anything up. But a White House official noted that all testing remains on the table," she said.