Pelosi asks Joint Chiefs about preventing Trump from launching nukes
The president is 'unhinged' and the nation must be protected from him, she wrote in a letter to colleagues.
By CONNOR O’BRIEN and JACQUELINE FELDSCHER
01/08/2021 12:12 PM EST
Updated: 01/08/2021 03:07 PM EST
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke with the nation's top military officer on Friday about precautions in place
to prevent President Donald Trump from ordering a nuclear strike or conducting other military hostilities as Democrats seek his removal from office.
The stunning revelation came in a letter from the speaker to House Democrats outlining next steps following a violent breach of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday by Trump supporters. Pelosi said
she spoke to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley about guardrails in place that could prevent "an unstable president" from wielding the military or the country's nuclear arsenal.
"This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike," Pelosi said in the letter.
"The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy," she added.
Milley's spokesperson, Col. Dave Butler, said
Pelosi initiated the call with the chairman. "He answered her questions regarding the process of nuclear command authority.”
Numerous Democratic lawmakers have pushed for legislation that would limit the president's authority to launch a nuclear strike — including by requiring additional officials to sign off on a launch and making the "no first use of nuclear weapons" an official U.S. policy.
Some have also warned of Trump's politicization of the military and expressed concerns ahead of the November election that the commander in chief could use the military, either domestically or internationally, in an improper manner with the goal of influencing the election or staying in power.
The process to launch a nuclear strike does not proceed through the typical military decision-making chain of command that requires input and approval from many officials. Instead, the order is meant to be conveyed as quickly as possible so military officers can execute a decision that only the president can make....
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