lawmakers work to restrict the nuclear power of the US president

The US Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced a bill that would force the White House to seek Congressional approval before ordering a nuclear strike, insisting the president should not have unilateral authority to start a nuclear war. Senator Ed Markey and Representative Ted Lieu have introduced the 'Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act', which would prohibit any US president from launching a nuclear strike without prior authorization from Congress and reaffirm lawmakers' war powers under the US Constitution. They also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "nuclear threats" and marked the anniversary of the April 15, 1969 shootdown of a US spy plane by North Korean forces over the Sea of Japan, claiming that an "intoxicated President Richard Nixon" ordered a nuclear strike in response. There is little evidence to support the claim that the president ordered an attack while drunk. The two Democrats have introduced similar bills on several occasions in recent years, but they have failed to pass. President Joe Biden has reaffirmed a longstanding US policy of using the bomb to deter conventional and other non-nuclear threats.