Donald Trump could lose his power to launch a nuclear missile strike

Donald Trump‘s power to launch a nuclear missile strike is being reviewed by Congress.

This is the first time the President‘s ability to control the nuclear arsenal has been called into question in more than 40 years.

Mr Trump, whose role includes that of the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army and Navy, can currently press the red button without a congressional declaration of war.

The President is the only person with the power to authorise an unprovoked strike.

Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee and an outspoken critic of Mr Trump, will lead a review into the leader’s power to launch a deadly nuclear attack.

‘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,’ he told CNBC.

‘This discussion is long overdue, and we look forward to examining this critical issue.’

Last month Mr Corker revealed his anxiety about the President’s behaviour in office.

‘He concerns me’, said the Senator, adding that Mr Trump was steering America ‘on the path to World War III’.

In January a group of Democrats introduced a piece of legislation aiming to restrict Mr Trump’s power to launch a nuclear strike.

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Senator Edward Markey said: ‘By maintaining the option of using nuclear weapons first in a conflict, US policy provides him with that power.

‘In a crisis with another nuclear-armed country, this policy drastically increases the risk of unintended nuclear escalation.’

Mr Trump has made a number of apocalyptic threats of nuclear force against North Korea during his year-long presidency.

In August a fired-up Trump said he would be willing to unleash ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’ upon the hermit nation.

He later added further fuel his rhetoric, saying: ‘Maybe it wasn’t tough enough. They’ve been doing this to our country for a long time, for many years, and it’s about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries.

So if anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.’

In an address to South Korea’s parliament this week, a Mr Trump addressed Kim Jong-un directly, saying: ‘Do not underestimate us, and do not try us.

‘The weapons that you are acquiring are not making you safer, they are putting your regime in grave danger. Every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face.’