Three Republican members of the House’s Armed Services Committee issued a statement on Wednesday repealing the Democrats’ letter to President Biden, urging him to give up his only nuclear authority.
Conference chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Graduate member Mike Rogers, R-Ala., And graduate member of subcommittee Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said such a move would “leave Americans vulnerable”.
“The dangerous efforts of Democrats suggesting a restructuring of our nuclear command and control process will undermine American security, as well as the security of our allies,” the Republicans said in a statement. “These proposals, if passed, would leave Americans vulnerable, destabilize the nuclear balance and undermine our allies’ confidence in the nuclear umbrella.”
The statement added that the revocation of the president’s nuclear capabilities would be welcomed by opponents with nuclear powers, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“The ability to act during an attack is critical to deter a preventive attack from our opponents. America should never adopt policies or create bureaucratic impediments that would give our opponents an advantage,” the statement said.
REMOVING NUCLEAR LAUNCHING POWERS FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN WOULD BE ‘WILD UNCONSTITUTIONAL’: MIKE LEE
Cheney emphasized the importance of the country’s nuclear capabilities in a speech on Tuesday.
“Likewise, the adoption of any policy that restricts the United States’ ability to defend itself, such as the ‘first use’ policy towards our nuclear forces, would seriously undermine our deterrence and make the world much more dangerous,” he said. her during a Tuesday speech at the Reagan Institute, adding that the United States “should never adopt policies that restrict our exercise of power while our opponents do the opposite”.
A military adviser carries the alleged ‘football’, a box with nuclear weapons launch codes, for Marine One. (Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
About three dozen House Democrats signed a letter asking Biden to relinquish his exclusive authority to launch nuclear weapons, according to a Politico report on Wednesday. The president’s promise to give up his nuclear capabilities as commander-in-chief could take away the same power from future presidents.
NORTH KOREA AND IRAN MEET AGAIN AS THE US WEIGHTS IRAN’S NUCLEAR BUSINESS
“Assigning that authority to a person involves real risks,” says Deputy Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., Letter obtained by Politico. “Former presidents have threatened to attack other countries with nuclear weapons or exhibited behavior that has prompted other officials to express concern about the president’s trial.”
Congressman said on a Monday tweet that he is “calling” Biden “to install checks [and] balances in our nuclear command and control structure. “
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Democrats who signed the letter offered some alternatives to exclusive nuclear authority, such as requiring the vice president and mayor to agree to a president’s launch order before it is executed, according to Politico.
Presidents continually distribute a briefcase containing all the materials needed to launch a nuclear attack using a specific code, often known as “nuclear football”.
Democrats have previously expressed concern that former President Trump has access to such power. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in January, for example, said she spoke to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley about protecting the nuclear codes of an “unbalanced president”.