Trump takes nuclear football to Alamo: Military aide carries 'president's emergency satchel' on to Marine One for trip to Texas - after Pelosi demands assurances that he can't use it
President Donald Trump took his first out-of-town trip since the Capitol riots Tuesday – and brought along the nuclear 'football' Speaker Nancy Pelosi says he is unfit to control.
A military aide brings the 'football' whenever Trump travels. It carries the codes to activate the nation's massive nuclear military arsenal, and provides the president the ability to order a strike even when away from the White House communications network.
After the riots last week, Pelosi told colleagues she contacted chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley about how to keep an 'unhinged' president from accessing the nuclear codes.
A military aide could be seen carrying the bulky 'emergency satchel' that contains the codes aboard Marine One as the president prepared to depart the White House.
DAY TRIP: A U.S. military aide, left, carries the "President's emergency satchel," also know as "the football," with the nuclear launch codes, as President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Washington. The President is traveling to Texas
She raised the issue as she wrote colleagues to discuss how to proceed after the Capitol riots. Her caucus decided to go ahead with a historic second impeachment, with a vote set for Wednesday.
She headed her comment to colleagues: 'Preventing an Unhinged President From Using the Nuclear Codes.'
'This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike,' she informed them.
Notably, she did not reveal what response Milley provided, or whether any security guardrails have been established.
'The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy,' she wrote.
Trump maintains all of the powers of his office as commander in chief – although a series of resignations of cabinet chiefs and White House officials have deprived him of some of the advice and staff help he gets.
Trump went to visit the border wall in Alamo, Texas as the House prepared to impeach him for a second time
President Donald Trump tours a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall under construction Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Alamo, Texas
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi spoke to the chair of the joint chiefs to discuss precautions about 'accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike,' she told colleagues
A White House military aide and member of the US Navy carries a briefcase known as the "football," containing emergency nuclear weapon codes. Pelosi says she spoke with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army US Army General Mark Milley, on their use but provided no information on his response
She said she spoke about preventing an 'unhinged' president from using the nuclear codes
Pelosi referenced impeachment in a letter to colleagues
On his trip to Alamo, Texas, local officials said they had not received any notifications dealing with the visit – an indication that normal staff work had fallen by the wayside.
According to the New York Times, Milley spokesman Col. Dave Butler confirmed the call but did not suggest a new arrangement. “He answered her questions regarding the process of nuclear command authority,” he said.
Nevertheless, having been put on notice, officials may have essentially be put on alert to confirm that any orders they receive are lawful.
Pelosi and congressional Democrats also want Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to declare Trump unfit, but that hasn't happened.