Founding Father James Madison.

The President’s Authority to Initiate Nuclear War
Kathleen Kingsbury / Opinion Editor for The New York Times

(December 17, 2024) — “The trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man.”

James Madison, America’s fourth president, offered these words in 1793 to explain why he and his fellow founders issued to Congress the sole authority to declare war under Article I of the Constitution.

Yet since their invention, nuclear warheads have sat outside that exclusive duty of Congress to declare war. The American president today has full power over the nation’s nuclear arsenal. He can launch a pre-emptive strike any time and at any target on his command alone. A life-altering retaliation, and full-fledged nuclear war, would be nearly inevitable.

Every president has held this power since the days after Truman ordered the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Donald Trump suggested on the 2024 campaign trail that he, too, understands the gravity of the responsibility he holds. Today, Times Opinion offers the president-elect some ideas for how his next administration can help make the world safer. It is the latest in At the Brink, our ongoing series about modern nuclear threats.

“Trump ran a campaign of peace through strength,” the editorial board writes. “Time will tell if he can deliver what he promised.”

Times Opinion also surveyed all voting members of the incoming 119th Congress about presidential nuclear authority. No Republican went on the record to say that presidents should be able to launch pre-emptive strikes without congressional approval, but one Republican in the House of Representatives said he was nonetheless “very comfortable” with Trump having unilateral power. Only one senator, a Democrat, said the president should hold sole authority over a pre-emptive strike. Only two Democrats who will serve in the House of Representatives did.

You can read the survey’s full responses here. You can read the editorial here.

Read More:
•   Trump Can Pull Us Back From the Nuclear Brink
He is about to regain control of the nuclear codes at one of the most volatile times in history. By The New York Times Editorial Board

•   Should the President Have Nuclear Sole Authority? We Asked 530 Incoming Congress Members.
If there is a widespread urgency in Congress to cooperate on bills that create safeguards around nuclear war, it was not apparent. By Kathleen Kingsbury

Kathleen Kingsbury is the Opinion Editor for The New York Times