Democratic lawmakers urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to curb the presidential authority to utilize nuclear weapons before Donald Trump takes office in January.
The U.S. currently gives the sitting president sole authority to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. A May report from the Congressional Research Service explains that this authority is “inherent” in the president’s constitutional role as commander in chief. While the president can “seek counsel” from military leaders, they are “required to transmit and implement the orders authorizing nuclear use.”
Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, sent a letter to Biden on Thursday telling him he should change the current U.S. policy to require Congress to sign off on any use of nuclear weapons. In 2015, Lieu proposed legislation that would require a declaration of war from Congress before the president could utilize nuclear weapons. In their letter to Biden, the Democrats called the current policy “dangerous.”
