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<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="99719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="joe-biden" source="Orion">Joe Biden</keyword> briefly transferred presidential authority to <keyword id="11894033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vice-president" source="Orion">Vice President</keyword> <keyword id="11939049" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kamala-harris" source="Orion">Kamala Harris</keyword> on Friday.</li><li>That included the ability to use nuclear weapons, making Harris the first woman in US history to hold that authority.</li></ul>President Joe Biden temporarily transferred his presidential authority to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday as he underwent a routine colonoscopy, which briefly made her the first woman in US history to have power as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the first woman to have control of the US nuclear arsenal."As was the case when President George W. Bush had the same procedure in 2002 and 2007, and following the process set out in the Constitution, President Biden will transfer power to the Vice President for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday morning."The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time," Psaki added.Every US president since Harry Truman, the only leader of a nuclear-armed state to authorize the use of nuclear force against an enemy, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-football-history-origins-why-it-follows-presidents-2021-2">has had sole and absolute authority over the use of nuclear weapons</a>. And every president since Dwight Eisenhower has been followed around by a briefcase commonly known as the "<keyword id="12569033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nuclear-football" source="Orion">nuclear football</keyword>."<div type="image" title="A White House military aide carries the nuclear &quot;football&quot; as he leaves the White House" height="683" width="1024" msid="87805965" hostid="261"></div>The "nuclear football" exists for two key reasons, Stephen Schwartz, an expert on the football and a nonresident senior fellow at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-football-history-origins-why-it-follows-presidents-2021-2">previously told Insider</a>.One, the briefcase "is the physical representation of the presidential authority" to order the use of nuclear weaponry, which only the president has, Schwartz said.Two, as a product of Cold War tensions with the Soviets, the football exists because "we've been afraid that a surprise nuclear attack could catch us off guard and preclude any sort of retaliation."The emergency satchel contains communication tools, codes, and options for nuclear war. The president also carries, typically on his person, a card with authentication codes known as the "biscuit." These codes are used together with the football to launch a nuclear strike.The president can also order a strike from fixed command centers if needed.The vice president is followed by a back-up football, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-football-mike-pence-capitol-riots-impeachment-video-2021-2">as was highlighted when rioters came very close to former Vice President Mike Pence's football during the riots at the Capitol</a>. The vice president also carries a biscuit with inactive codes. These tools are for rare situations in which the president is incapacitated or killed.When <keyword id="12569034" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="presidential-power" source="Orion">presidential power</keyword> was transferred to Harris on Friday, her codes were temporarily activated, giving her presidential authority to use the football or other means to launch nuclear weapons should such action be deemed necessary, Schwartz explained on Twitter.The US has never had a woman president, and Harris is the first woman in US history to serve as vice president. As such, she was the first woman in US history to be given this authority. She was not, however, be the first woman in the world to have this authority.Biden <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/11/19/joe-biden-undergo-routine-annual-physical/8679730002/">has since resumed his duties</a> as president.Update: This article was updated to reflect that presidential authority has been transferred back to President Joe Biden.

Kamala Harris became the first woman to have control over US nuclear weapons, but only briefly

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Every American <keyword id="2540" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="President">president</keyword> since Eisenhower has been followed by a bag known as the "<keyword id="6613382" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nuclear-football">nuclear football</keyword>."</li><li>The briefcase was born from the Cold War belief the president needs to be able to order a launch in minutes.</li><li>Much of the briefcase's contents are highly classified, but over its decades-long history, a lot has been learned.</li></ul>Wherever a US president goes, a military aide carrying a heavy black briefcase follows. The case is always close by, just in case the president needs to unleash the devastating and destructive power of the US nuclear arsenal while out of the White House.Every US president since Harry Truman, the only leader of a nuclear-armed state to authorize the use of nuclear force against an enemy, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-nuclear-weapon-command-authority-first-use-2021-2">has had absolute authority over the use of nuclear weapons</a>, and the "nuclear <keyword id="64" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Football">football</keyword>" has been an important part of that presidential power for decades.The briefcase is officially known as the president's emergency satchel, but it is more commonly called the "nuclear football" or simply the "football." The case starts following the president the moment they take the oath of office.The "football" exists for two reasons, <a href="https://twitter.com/AtomicAnalyst">Stephen Schwartz, a nonresident senior fellow at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists</a> and an expert on the satchel, told Insider recently.One, the briefcase "is the physical representation of the presidential authority" to order the use of nuclear weaponry, Schwartz said. Two, it exists because "we've been afraid that a surprise nuclear attack could catch us off guard and preclude any sort of retaliation."Schwartz explained that the strategic thinking behind the "football" is that "if you have the ability for the president to act quickly, you can forestall that and therein deter that from ever happening."<h2>'Atomic weapons in an emergency'</h2><div type="image" title="A White House military aide carries the nuclear &quot;football&quot; as he leaves the White House" height="683" width="1024" msid="81284734" hostid="261"></div>Born from Cold War fears that the Soviet Union might launch a surprise attack that could cripple the critical US nuclear capabilities were the president unable to launch an immediate retaliatory strike, the "nuclear football" has been around since the Eisenhower administration.The "football" was invented by Capt. Edward "Ned" Beach, Jr., a submarine officer who served as a naval aide to Dwight Eisenhower during his presidency, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/fumbling-football-now-it-can-be-told-204660">according to a 1991 Newsweek article</a>.The bag has been handed off from presidency to presidency, and every incoming president since Eisenhower peacefully transferred power to John F. Kennedy has been briefed on their nuclear responsibilities and the "nuclear football" prior to or upon taking office.The day before Kennedy's inauguration, Army Brig. Gen. Andrew Goodpaster, a defense liaison to the president, and Eisenhower met with the president-elect and "showed Mr. Kennedy the 'satchel' and the book of emergency documents therein," <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/dc.html?doc=4564666-Document-01-Memorandum-for-the-Record-by">a memo from Jan. 25, 1961 reads</a>.The memo says that the general "also told him of the extra document ... included in the satchel which would authorize the use of atomic weapons in an emergency."The first known photograph of the briefcase, which can be seen in the first black-and-white photo in the collection of "football" photos below, was taken on May 10, 1963, when Kennedy traveled to Hyannis Port, Massachusetts to meet the Canadian prime minister.Army Maj. Gen. Chester Clifton was tasked with carrying the satchel that day, just months before the president's life suddenly and violently ended in November 1963.<h2>Nicknamed the 'football'</h2>It is unclear where exactly the nickname "football" came from, but one of the first known public appearances of this term was in a November 1965 article by Associated Press reporter Bob Horton on Kennedy's death two years earlier and the transfer of the presidential nuclear command authority.Horton wrote that as Kennedy was dying at a hospital in Dallas, Texas after being shot, Ira Gearhart, a US Army warrant officer, "sat outside in the lobby unobtrusively guarding a brown leather briefcase someone had nicknamed the 'football.'"When Kennedy died, the man "picked up the case and strode past the emergency room desk into a surgery suite where, behind drawn shades, sat Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson," Horton wrote, explaining that "with those few steps came the first real, if not formal, transfer of power."As for why someone nicknamed the president's emergency satchel the "football," <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-05-nuclear-football_x.htm">a 2005 AP report on the briefcase said that the nickname "football" came about in response to the first nuclear war plan</a>, or Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP), code-named "dropkick."<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/real-story-football-follows-president-everywhere-180952779/">Smithsonian Magazine reported the same in 2014</a>, explaining that the concept was that a "football" was required to execute a "dropkick." This explanation was attributed to former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.<a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2018-07-09/presidential-control-nuclear-weapons-football">William Burr, an analyst with the National Security Archive at George Washington University, wrote</a> in 2018 that this "may be the case, but no evidence supports this claim." He argued that there is no evidence of a US war plan code-named "dropkick."Burr further explained that the only reference to "dropkick" that he has been able to find is in the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. There were, however, <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2018-07-09/presidential-control-nuclear-weapons-football">real plans code-named "dropshot" and "offtackle,"</a> the latter being a football term.Regardless of where the nickname came from, it stuck, and people continue to call the briefcase the "football" today. That even includes the aides that carry the case and US presidents who might need to use it.<h2>'Chemodanchik'</h2>The aide with the briefcase is the president's constant companion, not only at home, but also overseas as well. During the later years of the Cold War, the briefcase was photographed in Red Square in Moscow. It is one among many places the case has traveled.Russian leaders are accompanied by a briefcase similar in function to the American "nuclear football." The case, which is an important part of the command and control of Russia's nuclear forces, is known as the "cheget" or more generally "chemodanchik."The Russian briefcase was created during the tense early 1980s, when the Soviets were becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of a US nuclear strike that would require immediate retaliation, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/shatter031598a.htm">according to a 1998 Washington Post report</a>.US and Russian leaders have talked about the possibility of eliminating the nuclear briefcases, though nothing has ever come of those discussions.The issue was raised repeatedly during meetings between Bill Clinton and his Russian counterpart Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, declassified confidential memos on the meetings show."Let us say we get rid of the nuclear footballs," <a href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//dc.html?doc=4941247-Document-1-Memorandum-of-Conversation-Expanded">Yeltsin remarked during a 1994 meeting</a>. Yeltsin said that it was "too much" to have a military aide "drag around one of these briefcases." Clinton said he would need to think about it, telling Yeltsin he hadn't given the matter any thought.<a href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//dc.html?doc=4941248-Document-2-Memorandum-of-Conversation-Private">The Russian president brought this proposal up again in 1997</a>, asking, "What if we were to give up having to have our finger next to the button all the time?" Yeltsin told Clinton that "it is not necessary for us to carry the chemodanchik.""I'll have to think about this," Clinton replied. "All we carry, of course, are the codes and the secure phone."There is a little bit more to the contents of the "football" than Clinton's short response during that meeting suggests. Reports from military aides and others throughout its history have offered some insight into what is in the bag. The specifics are classified though.<div type="image" title="A US military aide carries the &quot;president's emergency satchel.&quot;" height="2658" width="3986" msid="81284737" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Things in the Football'</h2>Warren "Bill" Gulley, the former director of the White House Military Office that oversees the "nuclear football," wrote in his 1980 book Breaking Cover that "there are four things in the Football."These things include "the Black Book containing the retaliatory options, a book listing classified site locations, a manila folder with eight or ten pages stapled together giving a description of procedures for the Emergency Broadcast System, and a three-by-five inch card with authentication codes."The briefcase is also suspected to contain communications tools because what appears to be an antenna is visible in some photos of the "football."The black book in the briefcase explains US nuclear war plans, previously called SIOPs but later renamed, and contains a collection of pre-approved preemptive or retaliatory strike options the president could choose from in an emergency.A simplified summary of the nuclear war plans and strike options was added to the briefcase during the Carter administration at the request of the president, <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-05-nuclear-football_x.htm">according to the AP</a>.The simplified summary has been described as somewhat cartoonish. A former military aide who carried the "football" said it is a little bit like "a Denny's breakfast menu."Gulley described the options as "Rare, Medium, or Well Done," the AP reported. It is unclear if this remains unchanged.The card with the authentication codes, which are not the same as the launch codes maintained by the US military, is known as the "<keyword id="92588" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Biscuit">biscuit</keyword>," and it is an important part of the process a president would go through to order a nuclear strike.If the president decided to use <keyword id="50845" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nuclear-weapons">nuclear weapons</keyword>, the "football" would be opened, and the president would be presented with strike options. The commander in chief may choose to consult with senior advisors and military leaders before proceeding, but that is not a requirement.Using the "biscuit," the president would identify himself to a military official in the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon, who would then receive and transmit strike orders once it was clear that the nuclear strike orders were coming from the commander in chief.Within just a few minutes, nuclear weapons aboard strategic bombers or carried by land-based or submarine-launched missiles would be in the air.While it may have once been carried inside the "football," presidents later began carrying the "biscuit" on their person. That development has led to more than one alarming mishap.<div type="image" title="An Air Force aide carries the 'nuclear football' out of the White House as he accompanies President Joe Biden" height="683" width="1024" msid="81284739" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Nothing going wrong'</h2>Carter accidentally left his "biscuit" in a suit that he sent to the dry cleaner, the FBI took possession of Ronald Reagan's card after agents seized his clothes at the hospital following an attempt on his life, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-clinton-lost-president-nuclear-codes-and-nobody-found-out-2018-1">Clinton is said to have lost his card</a>. It was missing for months before anyone knew.Like the "biscuit," the "football" has also been fumbled quite a few times.During Gerald Ford's presidency, the "football" was mistakenly left on Air Force One, and Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton all found themselves separated from the aide carrying the briefcase at one point or another.None of these incidents "tremendously imperiled presidential command and control," Schwartz told Insider, "but they do point out the fact that when you have one person in charge of all this, it does put a premium on everything working and nothing going wrong."During the Trump administration, there were at least two incidents involving the "nuclear football."The first happened when Donald Trump visited Beijing in November 2017 and involved <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-football-secret-service-china-2018-2">a scuffle between US officials and Chinese security over the briefcase</a>.Chinese security officials attempted to prevent the military aide carrying the satchel from following the president into the Great Hall of the People, setting off a series of events that ultimately led to a physical altercation between the Secret Service and Chinese security personnel, <a href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-sneak-peek-852ce0f7-5ca9-4020-8b81-082c15f69df1.html">Axios reported at the time.</a> Beijing apologized for the unpleasant exchange.<h2>'An unstable president'</h2>Another incident involving the "football" occurred near the end of Trump's presidency on Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-football-mike-pence-capitol-riots-impeachment-video-2021-2">where a backup "nuclear football" was following Vice President Mike Pence</a>.The practice of giving a backup "nuclear football" to the vice president started under Eisenhower, who was concerned about his health after he suffered a heart attack. Over time, it became standard practice, <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/nuclear-football-vice-president-pence.html">Fred Kaplan, the author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War, explained in a recent Slate article</a>.During the Capitol riots, the mob, some members of which were shouting "Hang Mike Pence!" after Trump criticized him for not pushing to overturn the election, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-football-mike-pence-capitol-riots-impeachment-video-2021-2">came within 100 feet of Pence and the "football."</a>Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for inciting the deadly riots at the Capitol, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-nuclear-weapon-command-authority-first-use-2021-2">which raised questions about the dangers of giving a potentially unhinged president sole authority to order the use of nuclear weapons</a>.Even as he faced impeachment for the second time in his presidency, Trump maintained control of the "nuclear football" and the authority to use nuclear weapons.The troubling situation moved Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pelosi-milley-conversation-stopping-trump-nuclear-strike-2021-1">call the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about options to restrict this presidential power</a> for Trump, who she called "an unstable president."The scene was reminiscent of when Richard Nixon, who was depressed and drinking heavily in the face of impeachment, <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/11/donald-trump-nuclear-weapons-richard-nixon-215478">sparked fears among members of his own Cabinet and some members of Congress that he might order a nuclear strike and kill millions</a>.But, just as it did with Nixon, Trump's presidency passed without a nuclear catastrophe. At noon on Jan. 20, 2021, the "nuclear football" began following President Joe Biden.Though <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-nuclear-football-if-trump-skips-biden-inauguration-2020-12">there were some questions beforehand about how the transfer would take place given Trump's decision to not attend his successor's inauguration</a>, the transfer of the briefcase and presidential nuclear command and control authority occurred seamlessly that day.Biden currently has control of the "football" and nuclear command authority, but <a href="https://twitter.com/RepTedLieu/status/1364651359178551301">some in Congress are pushing to change the status quo</a> that allows him to unilaterally order nuclear attacks at a moment's notice.Just a few days after Biden took office, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Secretary of Defense William Perry wrote <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/01/25/after-trump-end-nuclear-launch-authority-for-presidents-column/4235023001/">in an op-ed published by USA Today</a> that "no president should have unilateral power to use nuclear weapons." Then, a little over a month into Biden's presidency, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepTedLieu/status/1364651359178551301">dozens of House Democrats led by California Reps. Ted Lieu and Jimmy Panetta sent him a letter asking him to consider changing US nuclear policy</a>, specifically the president's sole nuclear strike authority, and creating checks and balances in the system.The debate over the president's authority to order the use of nuclear weapons has come and gone many times. It is unclear what decisions, if any, Biden will make on nuclear policy, but for the time being at least, wherever the president goes, the "nuclear football" will follow.

Here's where the 'nuclear football' came from and why it follows US presidents wherever they go

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> departed the White House Wednesday morning and was on his way to Florida. The outgoing president will not attend Joe Biden's inauguration.</li><li>The twice-impeached president still has control of the <keyword id="6613382" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nuclear-football">nuclear football</keyword> and sole nuclear strike authority until noon.</li><li>Experts say that the current situation is the product of an outdated and dangerous system that desperately needs to be changed.</li></ul>President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-marine-one-leaves-white-house-for-last-time-2021-1">has departed the White House</a> once and for all, but he still has control of the nuclear football and the ability to wage <keyword id="240596" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="nuclear-war">nuclear war</keyword> until noon on Wednesday. Experts say this is the product of a dangerous and outdated system.Trump boarded Marine One on the South Lawn Wednesday morning for a flight to Joint Base Andrews, where he delivered a farewell address before boarding Air Force One with his family to fly to Florida. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-announces-he-will-not-attend-bidens-inauguration-2021-1">He will not attend Joe Biden's presidential inauguration</a>.As he leaves Washington, DC, a military aide carrying a briefcase known as the "nuclear football" is accompanying the outgoing president, who still has the sole authority to order a nuclear strike.The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-nuclear-football-if-trump-skips-biden-inauguration-2020-12">nuclear football</a>, officially known as the "president's emergency satchel," is a heavy 45-pound briefcase that contains communication tools, codes, and options for nuclear war. Used together with a card known as the "biscuit" that contains authentication codes, the president can contact the National Military Command Center, identify himself to the armed forces, and select a strike option.As long as the strike option selected is legal, there are almost no checks on the president's ability to use nuclear weapons.When a new president is sworn in, the nuclear command and control authority is transferred to the new commander in chief, who receives a "biscuit" in advance that will activate at noon. The nuclear football is then discreetly handed off from one military aide to another to begin following the new president.But Trump flew off to Florida with the nuclear football, so things will be a little different this time around.As Insider previously reported, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-nuclear-football-if-trump-skips-biden-inauguration-2020-12">there are other footballs and options for getting one to Biden without Trump's presence at the inauguration</a>, and Trump's ability to wage nuclear war will expire as soon as the new president takes the oath of office. The football will also leave Trump's side at that time.Still, the current situation is troubling for nuclear experts who argue the nuclear football, which began following presidents during the Cold War, is no longer necessary."The entire premise of 'the football' is that the President must be able to order the launch of hundreds of nuclear weapons in a few minutes in the event of a surprise attack by Russia," Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons expert at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies, told Insider. "The entire command and control system is warped to deal with this unlikely event."He explained that it "is that one scenario that produces the spectacle we saw on Wednesday - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-impeached-second-time-house-of-representatives-capitol-riots-2021-1">a twice-impeached President leaving the White House in disgrace</a>, still followed by the infrastructure that would allow him to order a nuclear war with no second vote required."In the wake of the violent Capitol riots by a pro-Trump mob incited by the president earlier this month, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pelosi-milley-conversation-stopping-trump-nuclear-strike-2021-1">Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley about options to check Trump's nuclear strike authority</a>. The reality is that there really aren't any.William Perry, who served as former President Bill Clinton's secretary of defense, has been a strong advocate for changing this system, <a href="http://politico.com/news/magazine/2021/01/08/trump-still-has-his-finger-on-the-nuclear-button-this-must-change-456667">most recently in an op-ed published in Politico</a>."Do we really think any president should have the godlike power to deliver global destruction in an instant?" he asked rhetorically."By now, it should be clear that no one person should have the unilateral power to end our civilization. Such unchecked authority is undemocratic, outdated, unnecessary and extremely dangerous," he wrote. "It's time to get rid of the nuclear football."

Trump has left the White House, but he still has the nuclear football

<ul class="summary-list"><li>American presidents are accompanied by a military aide carrying a briefcase with the tools necessary for nuclear war.</li><li>During presidential inaugurations, nuclear command authority and the "<keyword id="6613382" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nuclear-football">nuclear football</keyword>," as the briefcase is called, are transferred to the new president.</li><li>But President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> says he will not participate in President-elect <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword>'s <keyword id="6363817" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Inauguration">inauguration</keyword>, which could complicate the transfer.</li><li>The Pentagon told Insider there was a plan for the transfer in that scenario but declined to provide details. Nuclear-weapons experts and a former military aide who carried the briefcase were able to offer some insight though.</li></ul>An important yet discreet part of the inauguration of a new president is the transfer of command and control authority over the US nuclear arsenal, but President Donald Trump does not plan to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, which could complicate matters.Trump said Friday that he "will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th." He did not say where he will be instead.So what happens to the "nuclear football" that accompanies the president if Trump doesn't show? How does it get to Biden?"That's a good question," Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Federation of American Scientists, told Insider. "It is an unprecedented situation." In the nuclear age, no president has skipped their successor's inauguration.The president has the sole authority to conduct a nuclear strike, and wherever he goes, he is accompanied by a military aide carrying a briefcase called the "president's emergency satchel," more commonly known as the nuclear football.Every president since John F. Kennedy has been accompanied by the aide carrying the hefty briefcase, which gives the commander in chief the ability to command US nuclear forces while away from physical command and control centers.<div type="image" title="A US military aide carries the &quot;president's emergency satchel.&quot;" height="2658" width="3986" msid="79749329" hostid="261"></div>The briefcase does not contain a button that can instantly unleash hundreds of nuclear warheads deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers. Instead, the briefcase contains communication tools, codes, and options for nuclear war.Separate from the football, presidents carry a card, sometimes called the "biscuit," on their person containing authentication codes. In a nuclear conflict, the president would use the codes in coordination with the tools in the briefcase to identify himself to the military and order a nuclear strike.Incoming presidents are typically briefed on their nuclear responsibilities before taking the oath of office. Then, during the inauguration, the codes they received that morning or the day before become active, and control of the football is quietly and seamlessly passed to the new president.Trump described that moment as "sobering" and "very scary," <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/824458644070674432">telling ABC News in 2017 that</a> "when they explain what it represents and the kind of destruction that you're talking about, it is a very sobering moment."The transfer of the nuclear football is supposed to occur at noon as the new president is sworn in. The military aide who has been carrying the briefcase hands it off to the newly designated military aide, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxJrPN6SBLk">former Vice President Dick Cheney said in a past Discovery documentary</a>. This traditionally happens off to the side and is not a part of the show.If Trump is not at the inauguration, then the transfer process will be different. Still, the transfer will need to be instantaneous, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson, who carried the football for former President Bill Clinton."That's the way it has to be," he told Insider. "For the process to work, you have to have this clear handing off of responsibilities." He said that how that happens would be up to the Pentagon, which serves the office of the commander in chief, not the man.A Pentagon spokesperson told Insider the Department of Defense had a plan for the transfer on Inauguration Day but declined to provide any further details."We war game this stuff, and we practice it ad nauseam for years and years," Patterson said. "There are systems in place to make sure that happens instantaneously. There won't be any kind of question about who has it, who is in charge at that point in time.""We don't take this stuff lightly," he added. "There won't be any kind of hiccup. It'll just go down without anybody even noticing, which is what is supposed to happen."Kristensen, the nuclear weapons expert at FAS, speculated that the plan could resemble plans in place for situations in which a president is suddenly killed or incapacitated, situations in which nuclear command and control authority and all accompanying equipment have to be immediately transferred to the vice president or another designated survivor.Stephen Schwartz, a nonresident senior fellow with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, discussed what would happen to the nuclear football if Trump did not attend the inauguration <a href="https://twitter.com/nukes_of_hazard/status/1336415101017092100">with the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation</a> in December.Schwartz, known for his research on the nuclear football, said there was more than one football. In fact, he explained, there are at least three of them - for the president, vice president, and a designated survivor.He said that if another nuclear football had not already been prepared, one likely would be before the inauguration. There would be a military aide ready then to begin following Biden as soon as he is sworn in. And, at that time, Trump's nuclear command and control authority would expire."Hopefully President Trump will be there and it will be just a handoff, which is what it's been for decades," Patterson said, adding that if he didn't, "it's not that big of a deal" because the military will make sure that the transfer occurs as needed.Note: This post, which was first published on December 15, has been re-posted following Trump's announcement on Friday, Jan. 8, that he will not attend Biden's inauguration.

Here's what happens to the 'nuclear football' if Trump skips Biden's inauguration

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A plane that President Donald <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword> sometimes uses is scheduled to land in <keyword id="44181" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Scotland">Scotland</keyword> the day before Joe Biden's inauguration, a Scottish newspaper reported.</li><li><a href="https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/donald-trump-could-be-planning-turnberry-trip-as-scots-airport-told-to-expect-a-high-flyer-the-day-before-joe-bidens-inauguration/">The Sunday Post reported</a> that the US military plane is scheduled to land at Prestwick Airport, near Trump's <keyword id="209871" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Turnberry">Turnberry</keyword> golf resort, on January 19.</li><li>Multiple reports have suggested that Trump is planning to skip Biden's inauguration to host a rival, attention-grabbing event at the same time.</li><li>However, a White House spokesman, Judd Deere, told Insider the president has "no plans" to visit Scotland adding: "anonymous sources who claim to know what the President is or is not considering have no idea. When President Trump has an announcement about his plans for Jan. 20 he will let you know."</li></ul>The White House has denied that President Donald Trump will fly to Scotland for Joe Biden's inauguration following a report that a US military plane the president sometimes uses is scheduled to land in the country the day before the event.The Sunday Post, a weekly Scottish newspaper, <a href="https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/donald-trump-could-be-planning-turnberry-trip-as-scots-airport-told-to-expect-a-high-flyer-the-day-before-joe-bidens-inauguration/">reported</a> that a US military Boeing 757 was scheduled to land at Prestwick Airport - near the president's Turnberry golf resort - on January 19, one day before Biden's inauguration in Washington, DC. The report fueled speculation that the president plans to leave the US for his luxury Scottish golf resort rather than attend Biden's inauguration.While White House spokesperson Judd Deere initially said Trump was not ready to announce his plans for January 20, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany later told Business Insider: "This is not accurate. President Trump has no plans to travel to Scotland."A Glasgow Prestwick Airport Spokesperson on Wednesday said: "We can confirm that we are not expecting a visit from Donald Trump in January."McEnany's denial on Tuesday afternoon came after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scotland-leader-blocks-trump-from-visiting-turnberry-golf-resort-2021-1?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that President Trump would not be permitted to visit the country</a> because COVID-19 restrictions prevent non-essential travel there."We are not allowing people to come into Scotland, and that would apply to him just as it applies to anybody else," Sturgeon told Scottish reporters on Tuesday. "And coming in to play golf is not what I would consider to be an essential purpose."The president has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/01/us/politics/wings-of-power.html">used the plane</a> on previous trips abroad, though a source at the airport told the newspaper it is more frequently used by the vice president or the first lady.A White House spokesman, Judd Deere, told Business Insider on Tuesday morning: "Anonymous sources who claim to know what the President is or is not considering have no idea. When President Trump has an announcement about his plans for Jan. 20 he will let you know."Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-scotlad-resort-visit-cost-950000-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">visited his Turnberry resort</a> as part of a wider European trip in 2018.Sources at Prestwick Airport told The Post that US surveillance aircraft had flown above Turnberry in recent weeks, adding to speculation about a presidential visit.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-plans-air-force-one-tv-stunt-biden-inauguration-axios-2020-12?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Reports have suggested</a> that Trump, who has refused to acknowledge Biden's election victory and has claimed without evidence that the election was rigged against him, is planning to skip Biden's inauguration.Even if he does not travel to Scotland, he could be planning attempt to host a rival, attention-grabbing event at the same time. That could complicate several things, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-nuclear-football-if-trump-skips-biden-inauguration-2020-12?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">including the transfer of the so-called nuclear football</a>, a suitcase giving the president the means to conduct a nuclear strike.<a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-biden-inauguration-florida-rally-78b56134-54ae-4113-ad0a-ae29cd5c7be1.html">Axios reported in December</a> that Trump was considering a plan to fly in Air Force One to Florida, then address supporters at a rally held at the same time as Biden's inauguration.And <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-considers-2024-campaign-kick-inauguration-day-n1249595">NBC News reported</a> that Trump was considering announcing a presidential run in 2024 on Inauguration Day.Prestwick Airport did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

White House says Trump has no plans to leave for Scotland the day before Biden's inauguration

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US and its allies have imposed economic <keyword id="12754126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sanctions" source="Orion">sanctions</keyword> on <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> following its attack on <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.</li><li>The goal of the sanctions is to isolate Russia, cripple its economy, and retaliate against Putin.</li></ul>In the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/live-updates-russia-ukraine-crisis-2022-2">wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine</a>, the US, UK, and European Union swiftly imposed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/sanctions">raft of wide-ranging economic sanctions. </a>These measures, designed to isolate Russia and paralyze its economy, have had a major impact on both regular Russians and the moneyed elite: the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/russian-ruble-worth-less-than-1-cent-ukraine-bombs-sanctions-2022-3">ruble is tanking</a>, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/russia-assets-frozen-ukraine-war-fund-managers-markets-rubles-stocks-2022-3">assets are being frozen</a>, and travel bans are being put in place. But sanctions are nothing new — in fact, they're a long-standing tool diplomacy tool that can attempt to curb a country's behavior and avoid all-out war. Here's what sanctions are, why they're being employed now, and whether or not they're expected to work. <h2>What are sanctions? </h2>Sanctions are the withdrawal of trade or other financial relationships for foreign policy or security reasons, according to the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-are-economic-sanctions#chapter-title-0-1">Council on Foreign Relations</a>, a nonprofit US think tank. Sanctions can take multiple forms, including asset freezes, travel bans, trade restrictions — anything that might cripple an economy or hurt the finances of an individual connected to the government. <h2>Why are Western nations imposing sanctions on Russia?</h2>By imposing sanctions on Russia and many of its wealthiest citizens — those who, in many cases, have the ear of President Vladimir Putin — the US and its allies aim to cut off its financial reserves and retaliate against Putin for invading Ukraine. "The goal was to maximize the impact on Putin and Russia and minimize the harm on us and our allies and friends around the world," President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday. "Our interest is in maintaining the strongest unified economic impact campaign on Putin in all history and I think we're well on the way to doing that."<h2>What sanctions have already been imposed? </h2>The US, UK, and European Union have collectively imposed hundreds of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sanctions-ukraine-invasion-economic-damage-putin-russian-elites-banks-2022-2">wide-ranging sanctions</a> since February 22, according to <a href="https://correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2022/03/01/sanctions-tracker-live-monitoring-of-all-sanctions-against-russia/">a tracker</a> created by German nonprofit <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> site Correctiv.Russian flights have been banned from EU and US airspace. Some of Russia's largest banks have been cut off from the US financial system, meaning they can't process important transactions which require the US dollar. The US has frozen hundreds of billions in assets and sanctioned Putin personally.Other high-profile Russians said to be part of Putin's inner circle have been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU and are starting to have their assets frozen or seized. Even historically neutral Switzerland has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/switzerland-sanctions-russia-breaks-neutral-status-ukraine-invasion-2022-2">joined the EU in sanctioning Russia</a>, freezing Putin's assets and those of other high-ranking Russian officials. <h2>Who is most impacted? </h2>The sanctions have sent Russia's economy into crisis mode: the value of the ruble plunged and Russia's stock exchange <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Flivecoverage%2Frussia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-03-02%2Fcard%2Frussian-stock-market-to-stay-closed-for-a-fourth-day-Iec01mmxUY2th1S8vZoE">has been closed since Monday</a>. For regular Russians, there are already noticeable changes. The government has more than doubled interest rates and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-banks-savings-rates-sberbank-vtb-bank-runs-ruble-ukraine-2022-3">raised savings rates by 21%</a> to try to deter people from withdrawing cash. (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ruble-hits-record-low-russians-rush-withdraw-us-dollars-atms-2022-2">Russians lined up at ATMs for hours</a> to withdraw US dollars anyway.)Citizens may end up losing their savings or get transfers for their salaries and pensions, Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International <keyword id="11895316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="finance" source="Orion">Finance</keyword>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22956536/what-sanctions-do-russia-economy-ukraine-oil">told Vox. </a> She compared what's happening now to the 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, when many <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/06/world/as-ruble-withers-russians-survive-on-barter.html">Russians resorted to bartering</a> to get what they needed.Some wealthy, high-profile Russians, meanwhile, have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-oligarchs-eu-sanctions-unfair-putin-ukraine-2022-3">complained that the sanctions are "groundless and unfair."</a> France said Thursday it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-oligarch-superyacht-seized-france-ukraine-igor-sechin-darth-vader-2022-3">seized a $120 million vessel</a> owned by Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft, and the fate of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's 512-foot yacht, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-seizes-russian-billionaire-alisher-usmanovs-mega-yacht-forbes-2022-3">currently docked in a German shipyard</a>, remains unclear.Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has not yet been sanctioned, but he appears to be looking to offload some of his assets in advance, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roman-abramovich-selling-london-real-estate-sanctions-report-2022-3">luxury real estate in London</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-oligarch-roman-abramovich-will-sell-english-club-chelsea-fc-2022-3">Chelsea Football Club</a>, which he's owned since 2003.<h2>Are there more sanctions to come? </h2>Most likely. The UK is facing increased pressure to sanction Abramovich, and foreign secretary Liz Truss has said the UK has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb/27/liz-truss-says-she-has-hit-list-of-oligarchs-facing-uk-sanctions-ukraine">a "hit list" of oligarchs</a> who will be sanctioned. She vowed that there will be <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk-unable-prove-case-sanctions-against-russian-oligarchs-like-abramovich-times-2022-03-03/">"nowhere for any of Putin's cronies to hide."</a> The White House announced Thursday <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/03/fact-sheet-the-united-states-continues-to-target-russian-oligarchs-enabling-putins-war-of-choice/">an additional list of Russian oligarchs facing sanctions</a>, which for some includes their wives, children, companies, or assets.The White House also said Wednesday that it's open to levying sanctions on Russia's oil and gas industry. However, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-ukraine-one-big-sanction-left-putin-russia-oil-2022-3">as Insider's Mattathias Schwartz points out</a>, while an embargo on Russian oil and gas would take a massive economic toll on Russia, it would also impact the American economy by pushing up the cost of gas at a time when prices are already high. <h2>Will the sanctions work? </h2>In general, sanctions are nothing new — in fact, some scholars estimate the earliest sanctions date back to Athens in 432 B.C. But the modern iteration of economic sanctions developed between the two world wars, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/02/25/economic-weapon-review-sanctions-history-mulder/">historian Nicholas Mulder wrote in his book, "The Economic Weapon."</a> Since then, they've been used in a range of cases: For example, when the UN sanctioned Liberia's authoritarian regime in the early 2000s, and the US sanctioned Cuba or Iran for taking action against Americans, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.But the sanctions against Russia are different, Richard Nephew, a sanctions expert and senior research scholar at Columbia University, told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sanctions-ukraine-invasion-economic-damage-putin-russian-elites-banks-2022-2">Insider. </a>"What's really different is the fact that this is going against an economy as large as Russia," Nephew said. "You don't have these sorts of major moves against these kinds of economies because they are so systemically important."The sanctions seemed to immediately anger Putin, who called them "illegitimate" and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-puts-russias-nuclear-deterrent-forces-after-sanctions-2022-2">ordered Russia's nuclear deterrent forces to be on alert</a>, a move that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described as "dangerous rhetoric." Opinions are mixed on whether the sanctions will actually work, or whether they will simply punish the people on the ground in Russia. Still, experts emphasize that sanctions are just one of several foreign policy tools, not the only solution. "Sanctions are an important tool but no panacea," Richard Haass, the president of the Council of Foreign Relations, <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardHaass/status/1497927151089184769">tweeted</a>. "They can and will increase the cost to Russia of Putin's war, and they may well contribute to public disaffection in Russia, but for now what will matter most is what happens on the ground in Ukraine."<h2>When will they end? </h2>The UK government has said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sanctions-hammering-russia-economy-may-last-10-years-uk-says-2022-3">its sanctions could last a decade</a>. The US hasn't specified what Russia can do to get the sanctions lifted, but promised the measures it imposed "will have a deep and long-lasting effect on the Russian economy and financial system."

The US and its allies are trying to cripple Russia's economy with sanctions that target everything from international travel to oligarchs' yachts &mdash; here's how they work

You Searched For "nuclear football transfer" and got 7 results

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White House says Trump has no plans to leave for Scotland the day before Biden's inauguration

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The US and its allies are trying to cripple Russia's economy with sanctions that target everything from international travel to oligarchs' yachts here's how they work

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