Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took the first step toward moving forward with President Biden’s Supreme Court reform plan, beginning with a move to strip former President Trump of immunity following last month’s ruling in his favor.
The “No Kings Act” would “clarify” that the Constitution does not grant presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for their actions in office, despite the high court's ruling.
In a statement, Schumer reiterated that the Supreme Court's ruling granting former presidents significant immunity for official acts performed while in office is “dangerous and devastating.”
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, right, introduced legislation to strip former President Trump of immunity following President Biden's recent unveiling of Supreme Court reform. (Fake Images)
“The MAGA Supreme Court has once again subverted the will of the American people and the very idea of democracy,” he added.
“The Founders were explicit: no man in America shall be king. Yet in its disastrous decision, the Supreme Court threw out centuries of precedent and anointed Trump and subsequent presidents as kings above the law. Given the dangerous and far-reaching implications of the Court's decision, legislation would be the quickest and most efficient method to correct the grave precedent set by Trump's decision. With this blatant partisan overreach, Congress has an obligation — and the constitutional authority — to act as a check and balance on the judicial power.”
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled the bill after President Biden requested it. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The legislation was supported by 34 Democratic co-sponsors. Among those who signed on to the measure were vulnerable Democratic incumbents Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
Biden's recent Supreme Court proposal also included calls for term limits for judges and an enforceable ethics code.
Following the president's announcement, Schumer praised the proposed reform. “I am especially pleased that President Biden has called for repairing the damage caused by the Court's recent decision on immunity,” the leader said earlier this week.
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The court ruled that former presidents have some immunity. (Donald Trump: Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | Supreme Court: Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Schumer previewed the No Kings Act, saying, “One option I'm considering is drafting legislation that makes clear that the President is not immune from violations of federal law.”
The measure would declare that there is no legal immunity for former presidents or vice presidents who break the law while in office or in an official capacity, as Schumer anticipated.
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The legislation was supported by 34 Democratic co-sponsors. Among those who signed on to the measure were vulnerable Democratic incumbents Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
However, it would also strip the Supreme Court of authority to hear appeals over the bill's constitutionality. Instead, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia would hear challenges to the law, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit would have appellate jurisdiction.
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It would also allow the government to charge former presidents or vice presidents with crimes in any district court in the country.
The majority leader’s legislation faces almost certain failure in the Senate, as Republicans are unlikely to join Democrats in helping the measure pass the 60-vote threshold needed to avoid a filibuster. Its odds would be even worse in the Republican-controlled House, where it would likely not make it to the floor.
