Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) wasn’t being hyperbolic when he said he feared President Trump was leading the U.S. “on the path to World War III,” a remark that escalated tensions between the retiring senator and the President.
On Wednesday, Corker announced that there would be a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Nov. 14 to review Trump’s authority to use nuclear weapons. Corker chairs the committee.
“A number of members both on and off our committee have raised questions about the authorities of the legislative and executive branches with respect to war making, the use of nuclear weapons, and conducting foreign policy overall,” Corker said in a statement Wednesday. “This continues a series of hearings to examine those issues and will be the first time since 1976 that this committee or our House counterparts have looked specifically at the authority and process for using U.S. nuclear weapons. This discussion is long overdue, and we look forward to examining this critical issue.”
The scheduled hearing continues the conflict between Corker and Trump, whose White House Corker equated to an “adult day care” and a “reality show.” The two began publicly criticizing each other after Corker attacked Trump’s “stability” and “competence” in response to the deadly attack at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August.
The news comes just after Trump made a toned-down, albeit combative, speech about North Korea while in Seoul this week, threatening North Korea to not “try us” and calling on the country to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
The military and foreign relations professionals set to testify on Tuesday include retired Gen. C. Robert Kehler, Duke University professor and the former director of President George W. Bush’s Defense Policy and Arms Control at the National Security Council Peter Feaver and a former Department of Defense official for President Barack Obama, Brian McKeon.
At least two of the three have been vocal critics of Trump’s rhetoric on foreign relations, CNBC reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to TPM’s requests for comment.
Holding a hearing is a nice first step, but that’s all it is. This is a time for action by Congress. Yes, I know, that’s a contradiction in terms.
Are the launch codes with the president or in the Capitol? Ultimately, that’s the bottom line.
And what about conventional weapons/personnel? Why hold a hearing only on nukes?
Is this a good idea? I get it, but I also feel like it’s almost provoking Trump to assert himself in the most awful way imaginable. Remember that we’re dealing with a sociopathic narcissist here. Normal rules don’t apply.
Of course more should be done, but by that standard we shouldn’t be in this situation at all. We have a potentially tragic deficit of courage, integrity, and competence in this country’s political and media culture and it’s probably wise to be glad if anything good happens ever. Corker sounding the alarm is a good thing. If we get this President’s insane recklessness and total control of the nuclear weapons with which he has an unhealthy fascination into the national conversation we’re better off. Regular folks need to realize what we’re looking at. I spent part of a dinner the other day assuring my cousin that the President can shoot off nukes all by himself. Nobody else has to agree to it. She’s a smart person but she thought somebody else had to be persuaded, there was a group process, something. Probably nineteen out of twenty people or more think the same thing.
Thank you Mr Corker!