An ex -GOP’s Congressist touched President Donald Trump to monitor the country’s nuclear arsenal faces a grill in front of the Senate Senate Services Committee on Tuesday on his road to confirm -it.
Brandon Williams, nominated to turn Under the Secretary of Energy For nuclear safety, he is a navy veteran who formerly presided over the Energy Sub -Committee for the Chamber’s Science, Space and Technology Committee during his brief stage in Congress.
It takes thousands of hours of experience by overseeing the operation of a nuclear power plant and a propulsion plant in a nuclear submarine and has undergone rigorous formation to monitor two naval reactor designs, sources tell Fox News Digital News. Agastino’s volume, a former National Nuclear Safety Administration administrator who served under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said that Williams’ candidacy comes at a critical moment for nuclear deterrent.
« There is no question that has what is needed from a technical experience, technical competence and a point of view of technical leadership, because it has already shown it, » said Agastino to Fox News Digital. « He has shown this in the Navy. And only to have passed and do it through the nuclear propulsion program, which is the Heralded program started by Admiral Rickover more than 50 years ago, I have no doubt at all that he could lead this organization. »
Republican legislator says energy « sustains everything we do »
Representative Brandon Williams, RN.Y., at a press conference to present the non -Fraud Fortune law outside the United States Capitol on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
« Obviously it has been shown over and again that electricity, power provides, you know, increases the standard of living for all who have it, » said Agastino. « And so having someone at the helm of the NNSA, which is not a commercial nuclear energy organization, is a national security power organization, but there is relationships between the two, but having someone like him in this position is really important, it is very important. »
« There is no doubt that Other powers: China, Russia, whatever you can launch, maybe, even if you think of the North -Coreans, but the reality is that there is a geopolitical instability, « he said. They are not only the heads of war, but it is the technical competence of the people in the organization. »
« Brandon Williams, absolutely, the congressman Williams without a doubt, » Agastino told Fox News Digital. « And it is, you know, he has confirmed that he will lead an organization that is full of technically competent people who know how to do the job. So this is an important time. The world is watching. There is no question about it. »
Prior to Tuesday’s hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, wrote a letter to Williams, arguing that lacking the extensive technical experience of his predecessors.
Williams completed the training in the Naval Nuclear Power School and served as the youngest officer in a nuclear submarine, but Warren said he has no advanced degree in physics or engineering. Democratic Senator said the NNSA is in the middle of a $ 200 million nuclear modernization project, which the Government Accounting Office has found has already exceeded initial cost estimates in more than $ 2 billion and is behind almost ten years.
Representative Brandon Williams, RN.Y., speaks during an audience with members of the House Education Sub -Committee and the Working Force Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on May 8, 2024 in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Warren also gained Williams’s experience in the private sector. He founded a software company focused on the modernization and safety of industrial controls for the manufacturing industries, but Warren proposed concerns about the alleged Chinese bonds.
Trump Admin announces a new oil and gas lease in the Gulf of America
« I am worried that a leader without strong technical experience and extensive experience could jeopardize our nuclear deterrent and waste billions of dollars, » Warren said in a statement. « The person confirmed that he would run the NNSA … It must also make it clear that they would not share information with companies that could support the nuclear modernization efforts of China, further jeopardizing North -American national security. »
Trump has played candidates for his cabinet as « outsiders », as the Republican prioritizes the improvement of the bureaucracy rooted in Washington.
De Agastino said that Williams’ lack of experience in the federal government should not be raised his ability to effectively manage nuclear arsenal. In his own career before he directed the NNSA, D’Agastino said he gathered experience in the army and as a civilian employee before joining the executive branch. Williams also has this military experience, but it is unique because he has been with him with strong relationships since his time at Capitol Hill.
Representative Brandon Williams, RN.Y., is out of the United States Capitol during the last votes of Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
« He has this experience in the army and has this experience at Capitol Hill, who is frankly incredible to understand … so that there are similarities from the point of view of cultural security and commitment to national security and serves your country, » said Agastino to Fox News Digital. « This will serve well in the country. I am sure a large part of the work at the NNSA, as well as running a technical organization, also deals with hill relationships, explaining to members what happens in the program and why it is so important. »
The role of the NNSA administrator is to supervise the country’s nuclear laboratories. D’Agastino appointed the national laboratories of Sandia, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Livermore National Laboratories as the three of the largest laboratories in the country and « with the highest qualifications and standards, frankly, worldwide » were part of the organization that developed the nuclear deterrent « and are » a key part of maintaining the nuclear area. » Under Admiral William J. Houston, who is part of the Naval Reactors program.
Click here to get the Fox News app
« These naval nuclear laboratories are also part of NNSA, » said Agastino. « Because Congressman Williams is the product of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, his understanding and experience with these laboratories will be important in maintaining their technical competence and frankly supporting the security of the country to the future. »
Leave a Reply