Donald Trump and nuclear tech – what could possibly go wrong? In a terrifying development in the Trump administration, it’s just been revealed that U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved six secret authorizations by companies that want to sell nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia.
Reuters reported that the Trump administration has been working under the radar on a wider deal for sharing nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia. This deal’s goal would be to build a minimum of two nuclear power plants. The U.S. is currently competing with South Korea and Russia for this deal with Saudi Arabia, but it seems as though Perry is trying to get a leg up on his competition.
Perry’s approvals, which are Part 810 authorizations, will allow those companies to start working with Saudi Arabia ahead of the deal. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a document obtained by Reuters that the companies involved wanted the Trump administration to keep the approvals secret. The document stated:
In this case, each of the companies which received a specific authorization for (Saudi Arabia) have provided us written request that their authorization be withheld from public release.”
Of course, many lawmakers are very concerned about what could happen if the Trump administration is sharing nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia, worried it might lead to a nuclear arms race – an idea that Trump has been more than happy to support in the past during his own arguments with North Korea.
Last month, Democratic House members stated in a report that Trump’s White House aides had ignored warnings that working with former U.S. officials in a group called IP3 International would be against the law. IP3’s goal is to move a multibillion-dollar plan forward to put nuclear reactors in the Middle East. It is not known if IP3 was one of the companies that Perry authorized.
This is yet another example of the Trump administration acting irresponsibly and dangerously in its foreign affairs. Trump has made the world a terrifying place to live in, and his administration officials are more than happy to help.
Featured image via screen capture
