US Congress Bill Bans President From Launching ‘First Use’ Nuclear Strike

Newly-introduced legislation would ban the US commander-in-chief from authorizing a nuclear attack without approval from the legislative branch, Congressman Ted Lieu and Senator Ed Markey said in a press release on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The release claimed that the issue of "nuclear first use" is even more critical in light of the fact that a majority of Americans do not trust Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump with the US nuclear arsenal.

"This legislation would prohibit the [US] President from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress," the release stated.

On Monday, US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the campaign’s first debate argued that Trump’s position on nuclear weapons runs contrary to longstanding US policy given he has repeatedly said he did not care if other countries possessed them.