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Wright Calls AI 'the Next Manhattan Project' After Los Alamos Visit

February 26, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:02:11

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on February 26, 2025, during a tour of Manhattan Project sites. Wright said the first visit he made as secretary was to Los Alamos, where the Manhattan Project was headquartered, and he was headed next to Oak Ridge, as the host noted his itinerary. He credited the wartime effort with helping America win the war earlier and win the peace.

Wright called artificial intelligence the next challenge and the next Manhattan Project, saying the United States needs the same urgency, passion and no-nonsense approach to lead the world in AI because the costs of finishing second would affect defense, the economy, industry and opportunities for Americans, as he laid out the stakes. He said America won in World War II and, under President Trump’s leadership, will win again.

Asked about nuclear power for AI, Wright said the President supports expanding nuclear power 100 percent, that nuclear has been stagnant for decades and will be gotten moving again, though that takes a few years. He said the biggest sources of electricity today are natural gas, existing nuclear and coal, and that the administration wants to grow all affordable, reliable sources both to win the AI race and to drive down heating and electricity costs for consumers.

Why it matters

The short interview is where the Energy Secretary first attached the administration’s signature framing — AI as a Manhattan Project — to a concrete energy claim: that nuclear expansion would be restarted to power it.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright joins FOX News’s Martha MacCallum - February 26th, 2025”, 2025-02-26 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-02-26). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.