House Democrats on Thursday are pushing legislation to block former President Donald Trump from ever holding office again.
The legislation accuses Trump of involvement in “insurrection” and points to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to assert that Trump is not eligible to hold office again.
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,” an excerpt of the 14th Amendment stated.
“Under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, Donald J. Trump is ineligible to again hold the office of President of the United States, or to hold any office, civil or military, under the United States,” the measure stated.
Democratic Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island said in a statement that more than three dozen lawmakers are pushing for the measure.
“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. You don’t get to lead a government you tried to destroy,” Cicilline said. “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.
This comes a month after Trump formally announced that he would seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” he said in front of a crowd gathered at Mar-a-Lago, where his campaign will be headquartered.
Trump still holds a plurality of support among Republicans. A recent NYT/Siena survey found that nearly 50 percent of GOP voters said they want him to run in 2024, while 25 percent named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
