Will Joe Biden take away Donald Trump’s nuclear power? Here’s what Democrats are planning

President Joe Biden is under immense Democratic pressure to limit the president’s authority to use nuclear weapons aimed to curb unilateral power as Donald Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office in January.

President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. (AP)

Currently, the States vests all of its power to launch nuclear strikes in the incumbent president, a policy grounded in the president’s war powers as the commander in chief.

Military leaders offer advice, but they must follow the president’s decisions after they are made, as a report from the Congressional Research Service showed in May.

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Senators call for Congressional oversight on nuclear first strikes

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Ted Lieu of California, both Democrats, sent a letter to Biden on Thursday advocating for a change in this policy. They proposed requiring congressional approval for any nuclear weapon deployment.

Lieu previously introduced legislation in 2015 calling for a declaration of war by Congress before a president could authorize the use of nuclear weapons.

Markey and Lieu described the current policy as “dangerous” in their letter and stressed the urgency of reform. “As Donald Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office, it is more important than ever to take the power to start a nuclear war out of the hands of a single individual and ensure that Congress’ constitutional role is respected and fulfilled,” they wrote.

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The lawmakers proposed that Biden announce a new US policy prohibiting a nuclear first strike without congressional authorization. They stressed that this change would not limit the president’s ability to respond unilaterally in the event of a nuclear attack.

Trump’s potential use of nuclear weapons has been longstanding issue among Democrats

During his first term, Trump made numerous statements suggesting he might take such actions. For instance, in 2018, Trump responded to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s remarks about nuclear capabilities by tweeting: “I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”

Meanwhile, Republicans and Trump have accused Biden of policies that increase the risk of nuclear conflict. At a rally in Pennsylvania in September, Trump warned, “We’re heading into World War III territory, and because of the power of weapons, nuclear weapons in particular.”

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The US is one of nine nations known to possess nuclear weapons, alongside China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and the United Kingdom.