Category: 14th Amendment

Gaetz introduces legislation to end ‘unqualified’ birthright citizenship  

Posted on (Updated by Miranda Nazzaro

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would end “unqualified” birthright citizenship for children whose parents are not themselves U.S. citizens.

The legislation, titled the “End Birthright Citizenship Fraud Act of 2023,” would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act “to reflect the original intent of the 14th Amendment’s ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof’ clause,” according to a statement on the measure. 

The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all “born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”  

The amendment was passed in 1866, shortly after the Civil War, to ensure citizenship and equal rights for formerly enslaved people.

The 1898 Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark upheld the idea the 14th Amendment applies to children regardless of their parents’ immigration status.  

Birthright citizenship has become a favored target of hard-line conservatives. Former President Trump, who toyed with moving against it during his time in office, has pledged to end it on his first day in office if he returns to the White House, though experts say a president would lack that legal authority on their own.

More from The Hill

If passed, Gaetz’s legislation would deny automatic citizenship at birth to children born in the U.S. to parents who are not U.S. citizens, while “excluding aliens lawfully admitted as refugees or permanent residents or performing active services in the U.S. Armed Forces.” 

The bill claims birthright citizenship has "enabled an entire black market," citing estimates of 33,000 births to women on tourist visas annually, and "hundreds of thousands more" born to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary visas, "many of whom have misrepresented the purpose of their trip to avoid scrutiny."

It is not clear if the removal of birthright citizenship can happen through legislation. 

“Birthright citizenship has been grossly misapplied for decades, recently becoming a loophole for illegal aliens to fraudulently abuse our immigration system,” Gaetz said in a statement, adding that his bill shows “American citizenship is a privilege — not an automatic right to be co-opted by illegal aliens."

The Florida Republican, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the bill will “preserve the sanctity of American citizenship” and ensure citizenship is something that is “earned” from legal migration to the U.S.  

The bill comes as the Judiciary Committee is slated to question Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday regarding the agency’s operations and immigration in particular.  

Democratic senators urge Biden to use 14th Amendment to raise debt limit

Posted on (Updated by Alexander Bolton

A group of Democratic senators led by Sen. Tina Smith (Minn.) are circulating a letter urging President Biden to invoke his constitutional authority under the 14th Amendment to raise the nation’s debt limit without having to pass legislation through Congress.  

These senators say the spending reforms that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has demanded in exchange for raising the debt limit are unacceptable and that Biden should circumvent Republican lawmakers by raising the debt limit unilaterally, something that has never been done before and would almost certainly be challenged in court.  

“We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which clearly states: ‘the validity of the public debt of the United States...shall not be questioned.’ Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on-time, without delay, preventing a global economic catastrophe,” they write in a letter currently circulating through the Senate Democratic conference. 

The signatories on the letter so far include Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).  

More debt ceiling coverage from The Hill:

The lawmakers warned they will not accept any concessions attached to the debt limit that cut federal assistance for low-income Americans without raising taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.  

“We cannot reach a budget agreement that increases the suffering of millions of Americans who are already living in desperation. At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, we must ask billionaires and large corporations who are doing phenomenally well to start paying their fair share of taxes,” they wrote in response to proposals by House Republicans to increase work requirements for people who rely on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. 

The Democratic senators warned that Republican proposals in a House-passed bill to raise the debt limit could push as many as 21 million people off of Medicaid and deny nutrition assistance to 1.7 million women, infants and children. 

The lawmakers also blustered at House Republicans’ demands to attach major permitting reforms for fossil-fuel attraction projects to debt-limit legislation.  

“We also cannot allow these budget negotiations to undermine the historic clean energy and environmental justice investments made by Congress and your administration by allowing fossil fuel companies to unleash a flood of dirty energy projects that will worsen the climate crisis and disproportionately impact frontline communities. We must continue the transition from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy,” they wrote.  

Merkley said the letter is intended to assure Biden that he will have support on Capitol Hill if he decides to use the 14th Amendment to raise the debt limit in the absence of a deal with McCarthy.  

“It’s important because Kevin McCarthy has two main requests: attack ordinary, working families across America by cutting the foundations for health care, housing, education and good-paying jobs, and unleash fossil fuels on America. And both of those are absolutely unacceptable,” he said.  

"I want the president to see that he has the support in the Senate to use the 14th Amendment," he said. "He has support to say no to outrageous demands from the radical right."

Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen, however, warned last week that invoking the 14th Amendment would be a "constitutional crisis" and would spur a legal battle. 

Democrats Introduce Legislation to Bar Trump From Ever Holding Public Office

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Representative David Cicilline, backed by 40 other House Democrats, introduced legislation citing a Civil War-era provision in the 14th Amendment to bar Donald Trump from ever holding public office.

Cicilline put forth HR 9578 which seeks to deem Trump “ineligible to again hold the office of President of the United States or to hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.”

Forty Democrat co-sponsors have signed on to the bill. Oddly enough, only one original member of the Squad – Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) is a co-sponsor.

“Donald Trump very clearly engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 with the intention of overturning the lawful and fair results of the 2020 election,” Cicilline said in a statement without evidence. “You don’t get to lead a government you tried to destroy.”

RELATED: Democrat Seeking to Use 14th Amendment to Bar Trump From Office

Democrats Want to Bar Trump From Holding Office by Comparing Him to Confederates

Cicilline sent out a letter to colleagues just a few weeks ago, outlining a bill and requesting co-sponsors for the measure that “would prevent Donald Trump from holding public office again under the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Surprised to see he didn’t track down outgoing Republican lawmakers Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney to join the effort.

What he did do, however, was utilize another useful GOP idiot for the Democrats – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Cicilline used the Republican senator’s own words to suggest Trump was responsible for a small portion of his supporters – that he urged to protest ‘peacefully‘ – getting out of control, and thus fomenting an insurrection.

“Even Mitch McConnell admits that Trump bears responsibility,” Cicilline said, “saying on the Senate floor that ‘[t]here’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.'”

RELATED: Democrats Have A Back-Up Plan That Might Still Bar Trump From Running Again If Impeachment Fails

They Are Desperate

No question he is responsible, eh?

But there is a question as to how Trump’s speech equates to being liable for the actions of others. 

Trump was not even at the site of the riot and as such, could not be charged for actions engaged in at the Capitol.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is a rarely cited Civil War-era provision that bars individuals from holding office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

In other words, mostly high-ranking Confederates.

Trump was impeached in January 2021 on the charge of “incitement of insurrection,” but was ultimately acquitted by the Senate.

Acquitted. End of discussion. This thing would be laughed out of the courts in record time.

Not to mention the dangerous precedent such legislation would open the floodgates to. After all, Democrats themselves have objected to electoral proceedings in numerous past elections:

  • 15 Democrats objected to counting Florida’s electoral votes in 2000.
  • 31 Democrats voted in favor of rejecting electoral votes from Ohio in 2004.
  • 7 different Democrats objected 11 times to certifying the results of the 2016 presidential election.

With all of that, Democrats would have to schedule a vote on Cicilline’s bill before the legislative calendar comes to a close next week. With a GOP-controlled House set to take over in January, the 14th Amendment gambit seems likely to die.

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House Democrats introduce legislation to bar Trump from office under 14th Amendment

Posted on (Updated by Jared Gans

A group of 40 House Democrats, led by Rep. David Cicilline (R.I.), introduced legislation on Thursday to bar former President Trump from holding future federal office under the 14th Amendment.

Section 3 of the amendment states that no one who previously took an oath to support the Constitution and engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” shall "hold any office, civil or military, under the United States."

Cicilline said in a release announcing the legislation that Trump “very clearly” engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, with the intention of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

“You don’t get to lead a government you tried to destroy,” he said. 

The release states that the bill includes testimony and evidence demonstrating how Trump engaged in the insurrection. 

The bill also specifically describes how Trump helped encourage the violence on Jan. 6, tried to intimidate state and federal officials when they did not support his false claims of the election being stolen and refused to denounce the mob that stormed the Capitol for hours during the riot. 

“The 14th Amendment makes clear that based on his past behavior, Donald Trump is disqualified from ever holding federal office again and, under Section 5, Congress has the power to pass legislation to implement this prohibition,” Cicilline said. 

Cicilline, who served as an impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment, sent a letter to his Democratic colleagues last month to solicit co-sponsors for a bill to bar Trump from office. 

Trump was impeached on a charge of “incitement of insurrection” in the aftermath of Jan. 6, but he was acquitted by the Senate. This was the second time Trump was impeached, with the first coming in December 2019. 

Last month, Trump became the first major candidate to announce a run for the presidency in 2024. 

The 14th Amendment was ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, when ex-Confederates and seceded states rejoined the Union.

Report: Democrat Seeking to Use 14th Amendment to Bar Trump From Office

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Representative David Cicilline is seeking to invoke an obscure section of the 14th Amendment to bar Donald Trump from ever holding office again.

Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, is specifically citing the former President’s alleged involvement in “inciting an insurrection.”

He sent a letter to colleagues outlining a bill and requesting co-sponsors for the measure that “would prevent Donald Trump from holding public office again under the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Cicilline circulated his letter on the same night Trump announced his campaign for the presidency.

RELATED: Democrats Attempting To Use 14th Amendment To Bar Trump From Office

Using the 14th Amendment to Bar Trump

Is there an Amendment the Democrats haven’t used in trying to keep Donald Trump out of the White House? If it’s not the 25th Amendment, let’s try the 14th.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is a rarely cited Civil War-era provision that bars individuals from holding office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

Cicilline believes the January 6 Committee has provided proof of said rebellion on the part of the former President.

He says his bill “details testimony and evidence demonstrating how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States,” and references evidence provided by the select committee hearings.

RELATED: Democrats Have A Back-Up Plan That Might Still Bar Trump From Running Again If Impeachment Fails

Flawed Logic

David Cicilline’s bid to bar Trump from office using the 14th Amendment has a couple of fatal flaws.

One, just because the media refers to a rally that got out of control as ‘insurrection’ does not make it so, especially when referencing a Civil War-era clause that was clearly referencing those who took up arms to try and fracture the United States.

Two, while Trump was impeached in January 2021 on the charge of “incitement of insurrection,” he was ultimately acquitted by the Senate.

Acquitted. End of discussion.

It’s such a sad attempt at keeping Trump out of office that one almost feels pity for Cicilline.

It’s not a unique stance, however.

The Political Insider reported back in February of 2021 that Congressional Democrats were considering utilizing the 14th Amendment to stop their primary political opponent.

The measure at the time had no support on either side of the political aisle, with Democrats preferring “to see the former president convicted in the impeachment trial.”

He wasn’t convicted, making use of the Amendment even more ludicrous.

Legal scholar Jonathan Turley has argued that invoking the measure against Trump is a “dangerous” tactic for the nation.

Barring the former President from running again in the future based on a rarely cited provision of the 14th Amendment, after having been acquitted and without a supermajority vote, could open up the floodgates for parties in power to keep their political opponents out of office.

  • 15 Democrats objected to counting Florida’s electoral votes in 2000.
  • 31 Democrats voted in favor of rejecting electoral votes from Ohio in 2004.
  • 7 different Democrats objected 11 times to certifying the results of the 2016 presidential election.

All of those Democrat lawmakers tried to overturn a legal presidential election. In 2016, it led to violent riots in the streets of Washington, D.C. meant to intimidate officials. In other words, an ‘insurrection’ by the media’s phony standards.

Should those individuals also be barred from ever running for office again under the 14th Amendment?

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House Democrat eyes legislation to bar Trump from office under 14th Amendment

Posted on (Updated by Mychael Schnell

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) is eyeing legislation that would bar former President Trump from serving in office under the 14th Amendment “for leading an insurrection against the United States.”

Cicilline, who served as an impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment, sent a letter to his Democratic colleagues Tuesday night previewing a bill to prevent Trump from holding office and soliciting co-sponsors for the measure.

It is unclear when the congressman plans to introduce the bill. The listed deadline for lawmakers to co-sponsor the measure is Thursday at noon.

The Rhode Island Democrat circulated the letter the same night Trump announced his 2024 campaign for president.

“Given the proof – demonstrated through the January 6th Committee Hearings, the 2021 impeachment trial, and other reporting – that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection on January 6th with the intention of overturning the lawful 2020 election results, I have drafted legislation that would prevent Donald Trump from holding public office again under the Fourteenth Amendment,” Cicilline wrote.

Trump was impeached for a second time in January 2021 on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” following the Capitol riot, but the Senate ultimately acquitted him. The House impeached him for a first time in December 2019 for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” over revelations regarding his dealings with Ukraine, though the Senate acquitted him of both charges.

Cicilline argued that Trump should be barred from holding office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, known as the “Disqualification Clause,” which says individuals should not be allowed “to hold any office” if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

The congressman said his bill “details testimony and evidence demonstrating how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States,” pointing to revelations from Jan. 6 select committee hearings.

“It specifically details how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection when he helped to plan and encouraged the insurgence on January 6th despite knowing that the election results were lawful; attempted to intimidate state and federal officials when they did not support his false claims and unlawful plans; tried to manipulate Mike Pence into unlawfully refusing to certify the election results, despite Mr. Pence’s and legal advisors’ assertion that he held no such authority; and supported the violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, refusing for hours to denounce or act against the mob and putting thousands of lives in danger,” the letter reads.

If he introduces the bill, Cicilline will have to lay out the process for how the measure would use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the text is vague.

“It is unclear whether Section 3 is self-executing, which, if it is not, would leave federal and state courts or election authorities without power to determine the eligibility of candidates unless Congress enacts legislation to permit it. Courts have produced mixed results on this question,” the CRS report reads.

“Section 3 does not expressly provide a procedure for its implementation other than Section 5’s general authority of Congress ‘to enforce [the Fourteenth Amendment’ by appropriate legislation,’” it adds.

Trump announced his intention for a third presidential bid Tuesday night at his Mar-a-Lago resort, telling the audience at the event "we always have known that this was not the end. It was only the beginning of our fight to rescue the American dream."

"In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States," he added.

Report: Democrats Seeking To Use 14th Amendment To Bar Trump From Office

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

A new report indicates congressional Democrats are seeking to invoke an obscure section of the 14th Amendment to bar Donald Trump from ever holding office again.

An analysis by The Hill demonstrates that roughly a dozen Democrat lawmakers have openly or privately speculated about invoking the section to ban Trump from running for elected office.

In other words, they want to stop Trump 2024 before it even happens.

The Hill report specifically names three House Democrats – Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) – as having discussed the possibility with leftist Harvard lawyer Laurence Tribe. 

“I hear it being raised with considerable frequency these days both by media commentators and by members of Congress and their staffs, some of whom have sought my advice on how to implement Section 3,” Tribe told the outlet.

RELATED: Biden Calls Trump And Supporters ‘Twisted’ And ‘Un-American,’ Then Says He’ll Unite America

Barring Trump From Office

The Political Insider reported back in February that Congressional Democrats were considering utilizing the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from office.

The idea first surfaced as a result of Democrats fearing their second impeachment of the former President would not lead to conviction.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is a rarely cited Civil War-era provision that bars people from holding office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

From there, it’s easy to tie what Democrats are attempting to do with the January 6 Committee and their insistence that the Capitol riot was an “insurrection” plotted by Trump.

  1. Have the media continually refer to the Capitol riot as an “insurrection” even as nobody has been charged with such a crime.
  2. Conduct an investigation through the select committee to link Trump in some small manner to said “insurrection.”
  3. Invoke a little-known provision involving Civil War terminology for an “insurrection.”

RELATED: Democrats Have A Back-Up Plan That Might Still Bar Trump From Running Again If Impeachment Fails

Democrats Abusing Power

Jamie Raskin pursuing an effort to ban Donald Trump using the 14th Amendment through a legally weak argument of inciting an insurrection is rich.

Raskin objected to the certification of Florida’s electoral votes in 2017. In fact, House Democrats tried objecting to the certification of electoral votes for Donald Trump that year 11 times.

It’s only an “attack on Democracy” if the other guy does it.

Such arguments against the legitimacy of the 2016 election led to marches, sometimes violent, in Washington, D.C. that year.

You can watch the resulting violence below …

Raskin discussed using the 14th Amendment shortly after Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

“The point is that the constitutional purpose is clear, to keep people exactly like Donald Trump and other traitors to the union from holding public office,” he said.

Some legal scholars have claimed Democrats could get the ball rolling on this plan by voting on a censure resolution to declare Trump engaged in “insurrection.”

Bitter and obsessed Democrats could conceivably coalesce behind such a censure resolution and they wouldn’t need any help from the Republicans.

A resolution to censure Trump would require a simple majority vote to pass in the House and Senate.

The Hill though, reports that some legal experts such as Tribe believe they have to go further by “by establishing a neutral fact-finding body to determine whether Trump engaged in insurrection under Section 3, or assigning that fact-finding role to a federal court.”

Again, part of the carefully calculated political game.

Democrats rejected pro-Trump Republicans from being included on the select committee investigating the Capitol riot. Instead, they placed committed ‘Never Trump’ Republicans Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) on the panel.

They then promoted Cheney to co-chair in an attempt to portray the group as a ‘neutral fact-finding body.’

Trump has repeatedly hinted about another run in 2024, but has yet to officially declare.

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