Congress fights over liberal cuts to America’s nuclear arsenal

Liberal members of Congress are seeking big-ticket items to slash from the Pentagon’s budget, but conservative hawks warn some of their targets could put the Defense Department’s nuclear deterrence strategy at risk and give an edge to adversaries such as China and Russia.

Influential Democratic members such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith have again zeroed in on long-overdue nuclear modernization efforts, despite China and Russia possessing new weapons.