Rep. Gabe Vasquez Leads Push Against New Nuclear Testing, Citing New Mexico’s Painful Legacy

WASHINGTON, D.C.- On November 5, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)led the New Mexico Congressional Delegation against the administration's reported plansto resume nuclear weapons testing - calling it a direct threat to the health, safety, and dignity of New Mexicans who continue to live with the consequences of the Trinity test, without benefitting national security.

In a letter to President Trump and top officials in the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and National Nuclear Security Administration, Vasquez highlighted that existing testing ensures that the U.S. nuclear stockpile is operational and our nation is secure, and urged officials not to repeat the above-ground nuclear testing that devastated southern New Mexico 80 years ago.

"Southern New Mexico is home to the Trinity Site and the birthplace of America's nuclear program. In the early hours of July 16th, 1945, nearly half a million New Mexicans within a 150-mile radius of the Trinity Site were awakened by a blinding explosion... Without warning, people in communities throughout southern New Mexico were unknowingly exposed to deadly radiation as a result of the world's first nuclear explosion. The fallout from the test rained radioactive ash throughout New Mexico, poisoning crops, livestock, and our people... We must stand firmly against any return to above-ground nuclear testing and against repeating the same mistakes that have already caused so much harm to our people and our home," said the lawmakers.

"Communities near the Trinity Site have carried the weight of loss and illness for 80 years," said Vasquez. "Families have buried loved ones, watched neighbors get sick, and waited generations for justice. Resuming nuclear testing would not only betray those victims, but it would put countless New Mexicans and Americans in danger. I'm leading the charge in Congress to ensure our future is one of healing, accountability, and respect for those who suffered, not a repeat of the tragedies we've already endured."

Vasquez added that New Mexico's scientists and national laboratories, such as Sandia Laboratories, already play a key role in maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile - without explosive testing - through cutting-edge research and supercomputer simulations.

Vasquez, whose district includes the Trinity Test Site, has made justice for victims of nuclear testing a cornerstone of his work in Congress. This year, he helped lead efforts to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act(RECA) to ensure New Mexico's downwinders, individuals exposed to nuclear fallout, are compensated. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, he also secured the Downwinder Commemoration Actin the House-passed FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to deliver long-overdue recognition by permanently commemorating New Mexico's Downwinders in publicly accessible areas at White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base.

The full text of the letter can be found HERE.

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