Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) believes former President Donald Trump is not qualified to run for office under the 14th amendment.
The argument has gained traction lately as Trump’s legal troubles deepen and the 2024 presidential election gathers momentum.
“We’ve been saying all along that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment contains a clear and unequivocal statement that anyone who has taken an oath of office – and by the way, not just the President, but also members of Congress and others who take an oath of office “Anyone who has participated in an insurrection or rebellion and sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution against enemies at home and abroad may never again hold federal or state office,” said CNN’s Raskin Dana Bash on Sunday’s episode of “state of the nation.”
The amendment bans any elected official from holding office if he or she “has taken part in an insurrection or rebellion against, or has rendered aid or consolation to the enemy.”
However, the amendment adds that Congress can vote to lift the restriction on the person concerned.
“This was added as a general constitutional principle after the Civil War and we must abide by it,” Raskin said. “Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for inciting an anti-union riot, and then 57 out of 100 senators found that Donald Trump had incited an insurrection.”
Raskin’s argument caught on immediately. Ttwo members of the conservative Federalist Society published an article on the subject in the Pennsylvania Law Review and another pair of scholars wrote one similar argument in The Atlantic.
Likewise, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson brought up the disqualification argument during the first Republican presidential debate last week.
“I will not support anyone who has been convicted of a serious crime or who is disqualified under our constitution,” he said.