WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's concern about President Donald Trump potentially ordering the launch of a nuclear weapon in his final days in office highlights a little-known fact: Launch authority rests with the president alone.It also resurfaces a question with no certain answer: What would happen if a military commander determined, based on legal judgment, that a president's nuclear launch order was illegal?
The commander might refuse such an order, but then what?Trump has given no indication he is considering using nuclear weapons, but Pelosi expressed worry that an “unhinged” president might start a war.