Politico | Democrats going nuclear to rein in Donald Trump’s arms build-up
- Control of the House will give Democrats ‘the power of no – the ability to block programmes, cut funding, withhold agreement’
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Bryan Bender on politico.com on November 24, 2018.
Democrats preparing to take over the House are aiming to roll back what they see as US President Donald Trump's overly aggressive nuclear strategy.
Their goals include eliminating money for Trump’s planned expansion of the US atomic arsenal, including a new long-range ballistic missile and development of a smaller, battlefield nuclear bomb that critics say is more likely than a traditional nuke to be used in combat.
They also want to stymie the administration's efforts to unravel arms control pacts with Russia. And they even aim to dilute Trump's sole authority to order the use of nuclear arms, following the president’s threats to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea and other loose talk about doomsday weapons.
The incoming House majority will have lots of leverage, even with control of only one chamber in the Capitol, veterans of nuclear policy say.
They point to precedents in which a Democratic-controlled House cut funding for Ronald Reagan’s MX nuclear missile and a Democratic-led Congress cancelled the development of a new atomic warhead under George W. Bush.
“They can block funding for weapon systems,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington.
