RNDF 2024 — Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces and a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations committee. As a result, she is seen as a key advocate for defense on the Hill, particularly for nuclear modernization.
In this exclusive one-on-one with Breaking Defense’s Valerie Insinna, Fischer walks through the status of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defense secretary nominee; what she hopes to see on the nuclear modernization front under the Trump administration; and what the future of Ukraine might look like.
One note: This interview was conducted hours before the National Defense Authorization Act was released, so the question about what the topline will look like has obviously been answered — we now know it conforms to the budget caps, a lower number than Senate leaders had wanted.