President Donald Trump sent a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to the U.S. Congress on Monday for review. The classified document, led by the Department of Energy, aligns with the Atomic Energy Act and initiates a mandatory 90-day congressional review period.

Key condition attached to the nuclear deal

A U.S. official confirmed that the agreement’s progression remains contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and recognizing Israel. Trump has previously stated that the deal would bar Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium. However, Saudi officials have ruled out normalizing relations with Israel without recognition of an independent Palestinian state, a stance that has hardened since the Gaza war began in 2023.

Agreement at a glance

Under the Atomic Energy Act, the agreement can take effect automatically unless Congress formally rejects it through a joint resolution during the review window. The Wall Street Journal first reported the formal submission.

Expert Warns Of Nuclear ‘Slippery Slope’

Erin Dumbacher, a Stanton nuclear security senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, cautioned that the agreement diverges from traditional U.S. nonproliferation measures. She warned to CNBC that it creates a "slippery slope toward more countries having nuclear material without the measures that have kept the total number of countries with nuclear weapons to only nine."

Senators Raise Concerns Over Nuclear Deal

The proposal has drawn criticism from U.S. senators. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) warned that the deal could weaken U.S. leverage in negotiations with Iran and increase nuclear proliferation risks in the Middle East. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) expressed doubts about the timing, noting that pursuing a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia while engaged in conflict with Iran sends mixed signals about American policy.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler launched a new Smaller War Plants initiative on Tuesday, modeled on the World War II-era Smaller War Plants Corporation. The commission aims to steer capital and expertise toward small defense manufacturers to secure what Hegseth termed a "generational battlefield advantage."

Targeting Foreign Supply Chain Dependence

Hegseth stated that the administration is ending the era of dependence on foreign supply chains and adversaries. He emphasized that backing domestic businesses supplying US forces allows the country to "outbuild, out innovate and overwhelm any adversary." The initiative draws its name from the 1942 Smaller War Plants Corporation, which Congress created under the War Production Board to help small businesses produce war material through lending, contracts, and technical assistance.

The Pentagon notes that roughly 70% of businesses in the defense industrial base are small firms. These entities are critical suppliers of components, specialized technology, and manufacturing capacity.

Funding And Capacity Expansion

Loeffler promised that the joint mission would supercharge funding for companies building the supply chain, tooling up, expanding, innovating, and hiring. She declared that the era of offshoring power projection production to adversaries is over.

This commission follows recent efforts to expand domestic capacity:

• The SBA launched a $20 million Critical Suppliers Prize Competition earlier this month to help small businesses scale production at supply-chain chokepoints.
• The agency awarded $50 million to technical schools and community colleges to train workers for small manufacturers.

Accelerating Weapons Production

Washington is simultaneously trying to accelerate weapons output. The Pentagon recently struck multi-year arrangements to boost production of SM-3 interceptor components. Concerns about US interceptor inventories and manufacturing capacity have sharpened amid conflicts involving Iran. The administration increasingly treats drones and other critical weapons as strategic products that should be manufactured domestically.

Loeffler stated the goal is to pair the world’s strongest military with the world’s most nimble industrial base, providing US forces with an asymmetric advantage while strengthening domestic jobs and supply chains.