Nunn Releases Statement on Nuclear Use Authority

Posted October 6, 2021

Former Senator Sam Nunn, namesake of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, recently released a statement on nuclear use authority with former Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz. In it, Nunn and Moniz argue that more guardrails should be put in place around the president’s sole authority to authorize a nuclear strike.

“The core of this new guidance should be that any order by the president to use a nuclear weapon when the decision-making time allows shall involve consultation with specified officials in the Executive Branch and Congress,” they wrote.