The ever-present tensions between President Trump and North Korea show no signs of stopping anytime soon. In order to stop the routine threats of nuclear war, former President Jimmy Carter has volunteered for a (non-existent as of now) diplomatic mission to prevent the unimaginable from happening. While the Trump administration mulls that offer, Senate Democrats aren’t taking any chances — three of them are introducing a new bill that prevents Trump from launching a preemptive strike against North Korea without congressional approval.
Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, Hawaii’s Brian Schatz, and New Jersey’s Cory Booker will introduce the legislation on Wednesday after Murphy announced their plan on Twitter.
“Trump’s North Korea threats are real. I will intro bill w @brianschatz & @CoryBooker to prohibit any preemptive action w/o vote by Congress,” Sen. Murphy tweeted. In subsequent tweets, Murphy said the bill “makes clear that any unauthorized preemptive strike” on North Korea (either nuclear or with convention weapons) would be “illegal.” Murphy also said a “mistake” by the president could kill hundreds of thousands on the Korean Peninsula. He hopes that the bill is an opportunity for Republicans breaking with Trump “to actually constrain” him.
The bill comes at a perilous time. Earlier this week, NBC News reported that diplomatic talks between the U.S. and North Korea have broken down once again with several pointing to the White House’s rhetoric as the reason behind the fiasco.
“It’s not surprising that negotiations are on life support right now. President Trump is deploying what is perhaps the worst negotiating strategy in the history of the American presidency,” Murphy said.
President Trump is set to visit Asia — and presumably discuss North Korea with several world leaders — in early November.
(Via Global News & NBC News)