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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke with the U.S. military commander on Friday about precautionary measures to ensure that President Donald Trump cannot launch hostilities or order a nuclear strike in his remaining days.
Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers that she was talking to Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about what measures are available to curb Trump.
“The situation of this intransigent president could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything in our power to protect the American people from its unbalanced attack on our country and our democracy,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues.
The speaker later said in a telephone conversation with House Democrats that Milley had assured her that steps were in place to stop Trump from firing nuclear weapons, according to a source familiar with the call.
The move came two days after insurgents stormed the U.S. Capitol through Trump’s false allegations of electoral fraud amid chaotic scenes that shocked the world and calls for the president to be kicked out of office.
While Pelosi’s letter underscores concerns among lawmakers about what Trump could try to do during his remaining term, there are questions about what Milley or anyone could actually do to stop a president from using nuclear weapons.
“There is no legal way to do that. The president has the sole, unrestricted authority to order the use of nuclear weapons without the need for a ‘second vote,'” said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International. Studies in Monterey, California, said. .
However, a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that the use of nuclear weapons was an extremely deliberate process.
According to Milley’s office, Pelosi started the call and Milley ‘answered her questions about the process of nuclear command’ without elaborating further.
Elected Democratic President Joe Biden takes office on January 20. Trump said earlier Friday he would not attend the inauguration, and it breaks with a long-standing tradition in U.S. presidential transitions.
Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, also said she did not return from Vice President Mike Pence on whether he would agree to the top of the Democrats’ request to call for the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office. “because of his incitement to rebellion and the danger he still poses.”
She said that “we still hope to hear from him as soon as possible with a positive response”.
Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, said that if Pence did not agree to the request, the Democrats were prepared to accuse Trump a second time.
According to the person familiar with the planning and who gave anonymity to discuss it, it is expected to be submitted to the House on Monday with a vote.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AP)