Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2025

Summary

Prohibits use of federal funds to carry out a “first-use” nuclear strike unless Congress has declared war and expressly authorized that specific strike. It defines a first-use nuclear strike as a nuclear attack against an enemy that occurs without the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff first confirming to the President that a nuclear strike has already occurred against the United States, its territories, or its allies, and declares a U.S. policy against first use absent a congressional declaration of war.

• Prohibits federal funds from being used for a first-use nuclear strike unless Congress has declared war and expressly authorized that strike.
• Defines first-use by whether senior defense officials (Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) have first confirmed to the President that the U.S., its territories, or allies have already been struck by nuclear weapons.
• Declares a U.S. policy that no first-use nuclear strike should occur absent a congressional declaration of war.
• Uses a funding prohibition as the primary enforcement tool rather than a criminal or military-justice sanction in the text provided.
• Findings emphasize Congress’s constitutional war-declaring power and the catastrophic risks of nuclear first use.
• Creates a narrow exception for strikes explicitly authorized by a congressional declaration of war, potentially limiting executive flexibility in crises.
• Could require new DoD confirmation procedures and change crisis decision timelines for nuclear response.
• Does not specify detailed implementation steps, timelines, or how to handle ambiguous or imminent threats in practice.