National Security and Foreign Affairs

Lawmakers introduced a bill in both houses of Congress Tuesday that would prevent the president from launching a nuclear first strike without a congressional declaration of war. A policy that was long debated — but never seriously pursued — during the Obama administration has now become anything other than abstract after the election of Donald Trump.

Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) introduced legislation meant to pry the nuclear football out of the president's hands.

On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump's temperament was hotly debated, with critics contesting whether he was properly suited to be in control of the country's nuclear arsenal. But regardless of those reservations, Trump is in office now, and his ability to make use of the nuclear codes is virtually unrestricted.

Two Democrats are pushing Congress to restrict President Trump's ability to launch nuclear weapons, reintroducing a bicameral bill Tuesday that would prohibit the president from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress.

Senator Ed Markey and Rep. Ted Lieu introduced legislation intended to prevent President Donald Trump from using nuclear weapons in a first-strike scenario without the explicit approval of Congress on Tuesday.

The legislation is titled the "Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017." The two legislators issued a press statement on the bill co-signed by William Perry, who served as secretary of defense in former President Bill Clinton's administration.

Saying they fear President Trump with his finger on the nuclear trigger, two congressional Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday that would prevent the White House from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war from Capitol Hill.

Sen. Edward J. Markey and Rep. Ted W. Lieu said their bill was designed to put a check on Mr. Trump, who during the presidential campaign had sent mixed signals on his thoughts about nuclear proliferation and the possibility of a U.S. first strike.

Treaties and official agreements between nations designed to solve a particular problem are notoriously tricky to create and then police, but measuring their success is normally pretty simple. Either they work well, or not at all.

What has come to be called the U.S.-China Cyber Agreement, however, has not fallen neatly into either category. The general consensus in government and private circles is that the number of cyberattacks emanating from China appears to have declined, though in fact thosere attacks are still taking place.