US media: Trump’s so-called “standing retaliation order” toward Iran cannot automatically take effect after his death

BlockBeats message, July 13, according to the Associated Press, regarding Trump’s recent claim that he has issued instructions to the U.S. military that, if Iran were to assassinate him, the U.S. would carry out large-scale strikes against it: there is no “death switch” mechanism in U.S. law that would automatically trigger military retaliation after the president’s death.

Under the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment and the Presidential Succession Act, if the president dies, Vice President JD Vance will immediately assume the presidency and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Military command authority will be transferred in parallel, and the succeeding president will decide whether to carry out, modify, or cancel the relevant orders issued by the prior president.

Experts say that although the United States has measures for continuity of government and nuclear emergency response plans, it has never allowed the military to automatically launch retaliatory actions based on pre-set orders after the president’s death.