Rep. Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat, has issued a new public statement in which he calls on House leaders to block the seating of any members of the incoming House delegation who presently support Donald Trump’s anti-democratic fight against the election results. Over 120 House Republicans and counting have signed onto a court filing expressing support for a lawsuit from Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is seeking the invalidation of the election outcome in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, all of which Biden won. Paxton’s case is not legitimate — Republicans have not suddenly come up with legitimate evidence for their case against the election results after dozens of decisive post-election court losses around the country.
Pascrell commented as follows, addressing House leaders directly:
‘Stated simply, men and women who would act to tear the United States government apart cannot serve as Members of the Congress. These lawsuits seeking to obliterate public confidence in our democratic system by invalidating the clear results of the 2020 presidential election undoubtedly attack the text and spirit of the Constitution, which each member swears to support and defend. Consequently, I call on you to exercise the power of your offices to evaluate steps you can take to address these Constitutional violations this Congress and, if possible, refuse to seat in the 117th Congress any Members-elect seeking to make Donald Trump an unelected dictator.’
Check out Rep. Pascrell’s statement in full below:
Today I’m calling on House leaders to refuse to seat any Members trying to overturn the election and make donald trump an unelected dictator. pic.twitter.com/icTmGKCpuR
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) December 11, 2020
The public announcement of Pascrell’s call to block Representatives-elect who presently back Trump’s fight against the election results notes that the 14th Amendment blocks individuals from serving in Congress who’ve engaged in insurrection against the United States. Considering the amendment’s original historical context, the provision originally kept Confederate sympathies out of the federal government in the aftermath of the Civil War, but Pascrell now characterizes the fight against the election outcome as a direct affront against the security of the United States on par with that historical travesty. “Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of” apparent “rebellion against the United States,” Pascrell noted.
The text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that. pic.twitter.com/VMnDfd0sFx
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) December 11, 2020
The Texas lawsuit in question targets election-related policy changes that took effect for the recent presidential election. Texas and its allies allege that these changes are invalid because they went through officials other than members of formal state legislative bodies, but opponents in the lawsuit, including the Attorney Generals of 22 states and territories, insist that the Constitutional demand for legislatures to handle certain election-related policy matters doesn’t confine these matters to formal legislative bodies. Instead, the point is for whoever happens to set formal policy in respective states to handle the issues, they say.
