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Wednesday
Nov152017

Trying to temper the Trump trigger finger

November 14 hearings called by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair, Bob Corker (R-TN) around President Trump’s ability to launch an unprovoked nuclear attack, failed to get consensus or a resolution. The hearings were prompted by Senator Ed Markey’s (D-MA) Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act (S.200). A similar bill has been introduced in the U.S. House by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). Markey called the hearings a start but added:  “I don’t think that the assurances that I’ve received today will be satisfying to the American people. I think they can still realize that Donald Trump can launch nuclear codes just as easily as he can use his Twitter account.” General C. Robert Kehler, Dr. Peter Feaver and the Honorable Brian McKeon testified against rewriting laws to restrain a president and suggested a chain of command would review any presidential strike order and could advise against carrying it out or even refuse to do so. But as several Democrats noted, President Trump has shown little inclination to take advice and has effectively surrounded himself with individuals who would not offer “real resistance.” Watch the full hearings.