Foreign policy in the US is squarely in the domain of the executive branch. However, the Senate recently sought to limit Trump's options by passing a bill imposing sanctions on North Korea, Iran, and Russia that the president could not undo without congressional approval.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-North Carolina) is now saying that Trump told him personally he would be willing to go to war in North Korea.
"There is a military option - to destroy North Korea's program and North Korea itself," Graham said on NBC's Today show on Tuesday morning.
"He's not going to allow - President Trump - the ability of this madman to have a missile to hit America," he added, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "If there is going to be a war to stop him, it will be over there. If thousands die, they are going to die there, they're not going to die here."
Graham usually acts in tandem with Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), but the former Navy pilot is currently at home in Arizona fighting brain cancer, after he came to Washington last week to sink a healthcare reform proposal championed by the White House.
"President Trump doesn't want a war. The Chinese can stop this," Graham told NBC, reflecting the prevalent opinion in Washington that the key to resolving the North Korean crisis is in the hands of Beijing.
Another senator who shares that opinion is Charles Schumer (D-New York), leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate. Schumer sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday, asking the president to suspend the approval of all Chinese mergers and acquisitions in the US in order to "send a clear message" to Beijing it needs to do more about pressuring North Korea.
"If China continues to passively address North Korea, I urge you to use your authority over the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to suspend the approval of all mergers and acquisitions in the US by Chinese entities,"Schumer wrote in a letter dated Tuesday, copies of which were sent to several news outlets.
Last month, North Korea conducted two tests of a ballistic missile that may have intercontinental capabilities and the range to hit much of the continental US, according to US intelligence agencies.
Trump has sought China's help in influencing the government in Pyongyang to stop its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, starting with a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.
Over the weekend, however, Trump tweeted he was "very disappointed" in China, saying it "does nothing for us with North Korea, just talk," even after US leaders allowed Beijing to benefit from trade deals.
"We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!" he added.
Beijing has rejected the "China responsibility theory," with Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang telling reporters in early July that Washington was the one doing nothing about North Korea while expecting China to do all the work.
China has also rejected linking trade and the North Korean crisis.
"We think the North Korea nuclear issue and China-US trade are issues that are in two completely different domains. They aren't related. They should not be discussed together," Vice-Commerce Minister Qian Keming said on Monday, as cited by the South China Morning Post.
Comment: Graham is making it clear as day who the madman is. When an individual incites violence on a local scale, he's hauled off to jail. When a politician does it, he's given a national platform from the media and consistently re-elected. These guys deserve a padded room!