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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke with the US military top commander on Friday about taking precautions to ensure that President Donald Trump cannot initiate hostilities or order a nuclear attack during his remaining days in office.
Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers that she spoke with Army General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about what measures are available to keep Trump in check.
“The situation of this out-of-control president couldn’t be more dangerous, and we must do everything we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced attack on our country and our democracy,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues.
The Speaker later said in a conference call with House Democrats that Milley assured her that steps have been taken to prevent Trump from firing nuclear weapons, a source familiar with the call said.
The move came two days after rioters, incited by Trump’s false allegations of electoral fraud, stormed the Capitol amid chaotic scenes that shocked the world and sparked calls for the president’s resignation.
While Pelosi’s letter highlights concerns among lawmakers about what Trump might try to do during his remaining tenure, there are questions about what Milley or anyone else could do to stop a president from using nuclear weapons.
“There is no legal way to do this. The president has sole, unobstructed authority to order the use of nuclear weapons without requiring a ‘second vote’,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. .
However, a US official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that any use of nuclear weapons is a highly deliberative process.
Milley’s office said Pelosi initiated the call, and Milley “answered her questions about the nuclear authority process” without elaborating.
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20. Trump said earlier on Friday that he would not attend the inauguration, breaking with a long-standing tradition in U.S. presidential transitions.
Pelosi, the most senior Democrat in Congress, also said she had not heard from Vice President Mike Pence about whether he would agree to the top Democrats’ request that he appeal to the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. ‘because of his incitement and danger he still poses. “
She said that “we still hope to hear from him with a positive response as soon as possible”.
Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the senior Democrat in the Senate, have said that if Pence does not agree with the request, the Democrats were willing to impeach Trump a second time.
According to a person familiar with the schedule and who has provided anonymity to discuss it, articles of impeachment are expected to be introduced on Monday, with a vote in the House as soon as Wednesday.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AP)