Sen. Bob Corker said Wednesday he will hold a hearing next week looking at presidential authority to use nuclear weapons, in a move that seems targeted at President Trump.
Mr. Corker, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee who has repeatedly tussled with Mr. Trump, said members of both parties have questioned what powers the president has to use nuclear weapons.
Mr. Corker said it’s been more than four decades since Congress has looked at the issue, and it seemed the time was ripe.
“This discussion is long overdue, and we look forward to examining this critical issue,” he said in a statement announcing the hearing, which will take place on Tuesday.
Witnesses include the former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, a former Defense Department undersecretary who served in the Obama administration and worked for Senate Democrats, and a Duke University professor of political science.
Mr. Trump’s saber-rattling over various world hot-spots has left lawmakers on both sides of the aisle demanding more controls over the president’s ability to launch military strikes or to escalate ongoing conflicts.
That Mr. Corker is holding the hearing is striking. He and the president have engaged in a very public feud.
“He concerns me,” Mr. Corker said of the president last month, wondering if the president was taking the county into World War III.
Mr. Corker has announced he will not seek re-election next year. Mr. Trump said the senator couldn’t have been elected dog-catcher.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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