U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks to reporters in front of the Capitol on Feb. 4, 2021.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was asked by reporters at the Capitol on Thursday (Feb. 11) whether the 14th Amendment would be used again if the Senate acquits Trump, as expected. He told reporters, “We’re going to finish the impeachment trial first, and then Democrats will get together and talk about our next steps.”
The amendment’s third section says that no person who has taken the oath of office as a federal or state officer but “has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Union or the States, or given aid or comfort to their enemies,” may serve in Congress or hold the presidency, vice presidency and other offices.
The amendment states, “Congress shall have power to pass appropriate legislation to carry out the provisions of this article.”
But the Senate legislation requires 67 votes. This means that even if every Democrat supports it, 17 Republicans would need to be persuaded to join. That’s the same threshold Democrats face when it comes to impeachment convictions.
Democrats have openly debated whether to move the amendment.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said he spoke at length with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia. The latter has been in charge of reviewing alternatives to impeachment.
Durbin told reporters last month, “I haven’t been convinced because the 14th Amendment doesn’t specify how to determine whether someone is involved in a riot.”
Before the House impeached Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asked colleagues for their opinions on the amendment.
Constitutional scholar Rick Green told The Epoch Times that he believes Democrats will try to “create a situation where different parts of the Constitution are pieced together so that they can be passed with a majority vote based on the 14th Amendment. “
Green believes that by invoking different parts of the Constitution, Democrats may be trying to claim that they only need a majority, not an absolute majority.
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