WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, today applauded the Senate’s unanimous vote to confirm Ms. Corey Hinderstein as the Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Before calling for the vote, Senator King spoke on the Senate Floor to highlight Ms. Hinderstein’s outstanding qualifications, emphasize the urgent need to deter our enemies in an age of evolving nuclear threats, and urge his Senate colleagues to help end the political logjam currently preventing qualified national security nominees from assuming their roles and serving the national defense.

Senator King emphasizes the urgent need to deter our enemies in an age of evolving nuclear threats

“We face threats all over the world, from pandemics, from terrorism, from a rising China, from a belligerent Russia – but one of the most serious threats that sometimes gets lost in the discussion is the unthinkable catastrophe that would be a nuclear exchange. Throughout the last 70-plus years, our principal strategy for dealing with that threat has been deterrence, the idea that if you use nuclear weapons against the United States of America, you will pay the heaviest of prices. That deterrence has worked,” said Senator King on the Senate Floor. “There is a nuclear threat that deterrence doesn't work on. A nuclear threat that deterrence, the fundamental strategy of our prevention of nuclear conflict for 70 years, doesn't work. What is that threat? The threat of nuclear terrorism. If you're not representing a country and if you don't care about dying, then the idea a nuclear response doesn't scare you, it doesn't deter you from taking that kind of action.”

“So keeping nuclear materials and nuclear technology out of the hands of terrorists is, to me, one of the most important functions that our government can perform. And that brings me to the nomination of Corey Hinderstein for the position of Deputy Administrator for Nuclear Nonproliferation,” continued Senator King. “She is immensely qualified, has worked in this field for almost 20 years, and has worked on nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation issues for most of those years both in the government and in the private sector. I would venture to say there is probably no one in the United States who knows as much about this subject as she does. Ms. Hinderstein will be responsible for a major part of the budget, $1.9 billion, and she's responsible for controlling the proliferation of nuclear materials, and that is so critical in light of the threat of nuclear terrorism.”

As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces – which oversees the United States’ nuclear arsenal and posture – Senator King has worked to enhance the United States’ nuclear security, strengthen our nuclear deterrent, and stop the spread of these devastating weapons around the globe. He recently expressed concern about the emerging threats of Russia and China’s development of “nightmare weapon” hypersonic missiles. Following reports of a potential Chinese hypersonic missile test earlier this week, Senator King stated that the “U.S. cannot lag in this development or allow for blind spots as we monitor the progress of our competitors.”