美国民主党试图阻止特朗普的沙特核协议

US Democrats look to stop Trump’s Saudi nuclear deal

2026-09-17 16:49:19 / Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman hold hands during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 18, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Nuclear resolutions of disapproval have never passed
• Lawmakers question enrichment, waste reprocessing in Saudi deal
• Relations with Israel remain unsettled issue
• House is out of Washington until November

WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) – US House ​of Representatives Democrats raised concerns on Thursday about President Donald Trump’s civil nuclear ‌agreement with Saudi Arabia, and said they had introduced a resolution of disapproval seeking to block the deal from coming into force.

Trump sent the proposed agreement to Congress in August, opening a 90-day window for lawmakers’ review ​and giving them an opportunity to try to pass a resolution of disapproval.

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Democrats and ​nonproliferation advocates have criticized the nuclear pact for not barring Saudi Arabia ⁠from enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear waste, two potential pathways to a nuclear weapon. The ​United Arab Emirates agreed to such measures, known as the gold standard, in its 2009 civil ​nuclear deal with Washington.

“A region already gripped by conflict and escalation does not need another nuclear power,” the four Democrats — Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Brad Sherman ​and John Garamendi of California, and Don Beyer of Virginia — said in a statement.

The Trump ​administration says the deal has nonproliferation measures required by law.

It is not clear whether Saudi Arabia will get ‌the ⁠deal without normalizing relations with Israel. Trump has said the pact will only go into effect if Riyadh does so, but congressional aides said there is nothing in the agreement addressing that issue.

Members of Congress have also called for all of the agreement — including classified “side letters” reached with ​Saudi Arabia — to be ​made public.

The 30-year nuclear ⁠deal calls for the construction of AP1000 reactors, a project worth tens of billions of dollars that would benefit Westinghouse, jointly owned by Canada-based ​Cameco

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It is unclear when the House might ​vote on ⁠the resolution. Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday sent members home until after the November 3 midterm elections.

Additionally, while Congress has passed dozens of disapproval resolutions over the years, no resolution regarding nuclear power ⁠or civil ​nuclear cooperation has ever successfully passed.

Under Section 123 of ​the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, agreements for peaceful nuclear cooperation automatically go into effect after 90 days if Congress ​has not passed a disapproval resolution to block them.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Nia Williams

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Patricia Zengerle has reported from more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China. An award-winning Washington-based national security and foreign policy reporter who also has worked as an editor, Patricia has appeared on NPR, C-Span and other programs, spoken at the National Press Club and attended the Hoover Institution Media Roundtable. She is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence.