On Thursday (December 15), a group of 40 House Democrats introduced legislation intended to prevent former President Donald Trump from holding federal office under the 14th Amendment.
In Section 3 of the Amendment, anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution but participated in an “insurrection or rebellion” wouldn’t be able to hold any Office — including civil office or in the military.
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who is leading the group of Democrats introducing the legislation, explained in a statement announcing the bill that it was “very clear” the former President had participated in an insurrection with the events of January 6.
In the statement, Cicilline — an impeachment manager in the first attempt to impeach Trump —asserts that someone cannot “lead a government [they] tried to destroy.”
The introduction of the legislation follows the Rhode Island Democrat’s attempt to gain co-sponsors for the bill from fellow Democrats by sending a letter requesting his Democratic colleagues to co-sponsor the bill.
The 14th Amendment targets Trump specifically, as Cicilline reveals in the release that the legislation includes evidence and testimony regarding how the former President engaged in an insurrection.
It highlights actions Trump took while engaging in an insurrection, including encouraging violence on January 6, 2021, attempts to intimidate state and federal officials in a bid to get them to agree with a false narrative that the election was stolen, and his refusal to denounce those who stormed the Capitol.
Cicilline asserts that the Amendment clarifies that Trump is disqualified from holding Office again but also explains that Section 5 of the bill expressly permits Congress “to implement this prohibition.”
