Bennet, Markey, Merkley, Demand Trump Administration Release All Documents from U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal

About About Michael Legislation News Press Releases Social Media Newsletter Archive Services Priorities Top Issues Child Tax Credit Investing in Colorado Contact Map Español Acerca de Michael Escribe a Michael Prioridades Servicios Visitando D.C. Bennet, Markey, Merkley, Demand Trump Administration Release All Documents from U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and a bipartisan group of colleagues on a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, pressing the Trump administration to declassify […] Sep 23, 2026 | Press Releases Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and a bipartisan group of colleagues on a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, pressing the Trump administration to declassify and publicly release the two side letters accompanying the proposed U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement, referred to as a “123 agreement.” The Trump administration recently submitted the 123 agreement to Congress, as is required by law, but classified key side letters the agreement repeatedly references at the lowest possible level. This classification prevents the public and a large swath of Congress from fully assessing the agreement, given that the side letters affect the obligations and operation of the underlying agreement. “Congress has a statutory responsibility under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act to review the proposed nuclear deal, which seeks to facilitate nuclear cooperation with significant implications for U.S. national security interests. Access to the full text is required for the Senate and the public to have a clear understanding of the commitments being made on the nation’s behalf and those being made by Saudi Arabia to the United States,” wrote the senators. “The side letters affect the obligations and operations of the underlying agreement and cannot be viewed in isolation from it; the President’s own transmission letter to Congress states that the agreement ‘…was concluded with two accompanying side letters.’ Their public release would also allow civil society, independent experts, and other affected stakeholders to scrutinize the deal.” “Transparency and open debate are cornerstones of our democracy. Congress and the American public must have a meaningful opportunity to review and debate the key components of the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal before it potentially enters into force. To that end, we call on you to declassify and release the two side letters without delay,” emphasized the senators. In addition to Bennet, Markey, and Merkley, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Senators John Kennedy (R-La.), Rand Paul (R-K.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed the letter. Bennet is a leading opponent of the U.S.-Saudi deal, saying in July 2026: “President Trump should not agree to any nuclear cooperation agreement that provides Saudi Arabia sensitive U.S. nuclear technology without the ‘gold standard’ set of nuclear safeguards we’ve correctly demanded from other countries.” The text of the letter is available HERE and below. Dear Secretary Rubio and Secretary Wright: We write to urge you to immediately declassify and publicly release the two side letters associated with the Trump Administration’s proposed U.S.-Saudi 123 civil nuclear cooperation agreement. While the text of the agreement and the bilateral safeguards agreement are now publicly available in unclassified form, the two side letters remain classified at the lowest possible level. In previous 123 agreements, the Executive Branch publicly released the agreement along with side letters and related documents. Releasing the agreement text without the side letters here leaves that practice only half met. We are aware of no precedent for classifying and withholding the side letters, particularly when the stated purpose is peaceful nuclear cooperation. Congress has a statutory responsibility under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act to review the proposed nuclear deal, which seeks to facilitate nuclear cooperation with significant implications for U.S. national security interests. Access to the full text is required for the Senate and the public to have a clear understanding of the commitments being made on the nation’s behalf and those being made by Saudi Arabia to the United States. The side letters affect