Commentary If the United States retreats in its nuclear posture during Chinese and Russian nuclear modernization, nuclear war is more likely—not less. Congressional Democrats have advocated for just that, arguing that the Pentagon budget should be cut, and nuclear weapons production should be shelved. A 2019 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report pegged (pdf) the cost for overall nuclear modernization over a 10-year period at $400 billion. “Congress must continue to identify and eliminate additional military bloat, such as the production of needless and dangerous nuclear weapons, which we should be working to rapidly reduce—not expand,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on April 13. “If our national security was preserved during eight years of the Obama-Biden administration, there should be no reason not to return to those levels of military spending under the new Biden-Harris administration.” Ninety-two of the 218 Democrats in Congress currently belong to this caucus. Jayapal’s idealism is divorced …