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Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
Nope, your right, but the Secretary of Defense does have to confirm the validity of the launch and the plan being used. They both have to read and confirm their codes.
If the Secretary of defense says he's freaking nuts, and refuses, the President has the right to fire him and appoint a new secretary of defense that has to be from my understanding a cabinet member who was approved by Congress.
Congress earlier this year discussed a bill that would change the launch scenarios so that a pre-emptive strike would have to be approved by Congress even in the face of the War Powers act. So basically the President would have to get approval for a legal declaration of war. I don't know where that bill is now, but it seems almost like it was designed with Trump in mind.
Right now, the Joint Chiefs don't have a say in the launching of nuclear weapons. Basically if the order is approved by the President and Secretary of Defense and the order goes to the General in charge of Strategic Rocket Forces. In theory he could stop a launch by not activating the communications procedures that lead up to a launch from my understanding, but I doubt that would happen.
As it stands the only way to prevent the launch of a missile by the president would be if his entire cabinet refused the order.
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One of the secret service guys could go kingslayer on him.