Ben, I understand your explanation that private attorneys couldn’t properly file suit given the Supreme Court holding legislation is required by Congress. However, that doesn’t address the explicit language of the Constitution that the already adjudicated insurrection infirmity can only be removed by a vote of 2/3 of each house of Congre…
Ben, I understand your explanation that private attorneys couldn’t properly file suit given the Supreme Court holding legislation is required by Congress. However, that doesn’t address the explicit language of the Constitution that the already adjudicated insurrection infirmity can only be removed by a vote of 2/3 of each house of Congress. Since the Court held only Congress can act, why can’t the current Congress introduce a bill to remove the infirmity? Since it will likely fail to pass by the required supermajority, Trump would not be sworn in. That’s consistent with Supreme Court precedent and previous Congressional actions refusing to seat elected insurrectionists. See United Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 550 (1969) (distinguishing between Congress’s power to expel a member, which requires a two-thirds majority, and the power to exclude a member who is constitutionally disqualified). All relevant state constitutions have a similar provision empowering state legislatures to judge the qualifications of their members.
The U.S. House of Representatives has previously used this authority to refuse to seat Member-elect Victor L. Berger in the 66th Congress. See Cannon’s Precedents, Ch. 157, § 56. After the Civil War, the House also debated whether to seat John Rice and Alfred Waddell, who faced allegations that they violated the Disqualification Clause. Hinds’ Precedents, Ch. 14. The U.S. Senate also invoked Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment when it refused to seat Zebulon Vance, who had previously served as governor of North Carolina during the Civil War. (Courtesy CREW).
Ben, I understand your explanation that private attorneys couldn’t properly file suit given the Supreme Court holding legislation is required by Congress. However, that doesn’t address the explicit language of the Constitution that the already adjudicated insurrection infirmity can only be removed by a vote of 2/3 of each house of Congress. Since the Court held only Congress can act, why can’t the current Congress introduce a bill to remove the infirmity? Since it will likely fail to pass by the required supermajority, Trump would not be sworn in. That’s consistent with Supreme Court precedent and previous Congressional actions refusing to seat elected insurrectionists. See United Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 550 (1969) (distinguishing between Congress’s power to expel a member, which requires a two-thirds majority, and the power to exclude a member who is constitutionally disqualified). All relevant state constitutions have a similar provision empowering state legislatures to judge the qualifications of their members.
The U.S. House of Representatives has previously used this authority to refuse to seat Member-elect Victor L. Berger in the 66th Congress. See Cannon’s Precedents, Ch. 157, § 56. After the Civil War, the House also debated whether to seat John Rice and Alfred Waddell, who faced allegations that they violated the Disqualification Clause. Hinds’ Precedents, Ch. 14. The U.S. Senate also invoked Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment when it refused to seat Zebulon Vance, who had previously served as governor of North Carolina during the Civil War. (Courtesy CREW).