Washington (January 22, 2025) -- At noon on January 20, Donald Trump became the 47th President of the United States, and at that moment, he took over control of the nuclear football from outgoing President Joe Biden. President Trump now has sole authority to launch the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The president can unilaterally make a launch decision and implement it directly without consulting senior leaders. He does not need to get approval from, or even inform, the Secretary of Defense or Congress. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Congressman Ted Lieu (CA-36) will reintroduce The Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act to ensure that no president can start a nuclear war without congressional approval.
Below is a statement from Senator Markey and Congressman Lieu.
“No matter who sits in the Oval Office, the U.S. President should be required to get approval from Congress before ordering the first use of nuclear weapons. We first introduced legislation during the Obama administration not as a partisan effort, but to fix the problem that current U.S. nuclear launch policy is terrifying, dangerous, and unconstitutional. As Donald Trump returns to the White House, 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.
“We must put guardrails on presidential authority to start nuclear war. We must never again entrust the fate of the world to just one fallible human.”
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