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‘President Donald Trump has already dropped bombs in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, but two Democrats in Congress are raising the prospect of him unleashing the nuclear arsenal, too. Their bill calls for a proper declaration of war before any preemptive strike.
Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Ted Lieu of California introduced the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017 on Tuesday, which Lieu’s office said was “more urgent than ever now that President Donald Trump has the power to launch a nuclear war at a moment’s notice.”
The bill requires a congressional declaration of war before the president can launch a nuclear weapon, except in defense against an incoming nuclear attack. Specifically designated in the Constitution, the Congress’s power to declare war is widely regarded as a relic in Washington, DC, as the legislative branch has only authorized, or abdicated, the power to go to war since World War II.’