Legislation To Stop Trump 2024 Run Via 14th Amendment Under Consideration

0
1195

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) is pursuing legislation that would ban Donald Trump from ever holding federal office again in connection to his role in the violent events that transpired at the Capitol last year, putting many people’s lives and the continuance of democracy at risk.

Trump formally confirmed late Tuesday in a speech from Florida that he would be once again pursuing the GOP nomination for the presidency, no doubt surprising hardly anyone. Trump has long been hinting at his interest in making another bid for the White House, and the delay in formally confirming his ambitions might have been connected to a desire to evade the federal regulations associated with the finances of an official campaign, an interest in keeping at least some of the focus on the Republican candidates running nationwide in the midterm elections, or some combination of these considerations. Cicilline started pushing his proposal to legislatively keep Trump from regaining the presidency before Donald officially confirmed his bid. On Tuesday, the Rhode Island Democrat was seeking cosponsors for the bill. Information wasn’t immediately available about who might have signed on to the proposal.

Although Republicans might be taking control of the House, that wouldn’t happen until January, and in the Senate, Democrats might actually be expanding their majority, depending on how next month’s runoff election in Georgia turns out. It seems based on a recap of the draft legislation included in a message originating with the Congressman that the proposal specifically addresses Trump rather than simply laying out a general legal framework that would apply to the former president, who remains under multiple criminal investigations.

“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,” the Congressman explained Tuesday. He added that his proposal “details testimony and evidence demonstrating how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States.” Cicilline was one of the House members who presented the chamber’s impeachment case against Trump to the Senate following Donald’s post-riot impeachment. The bill might not even be strictly necessary if Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis announces his own bid for the GOP nod and recent polling showing the governor beating Trump is proven accurate.