Two leading Democrats said Sunday there are potential grounds to remove former President Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause.”
The big picture: The comments by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) came as Trump sent out fund-raising emails Sunday on potential litigation over the 14th Amendment that railed against “traitorous ‘Republicans'” who may be looking into potential cases as he stares down four criminal indictments, per NBC News.
Context: Election officials in several states are examining whether Trump’s name should be removed from the 2024 ballot due to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prevents anyone who “engaged in insurrection” against the U.S. from holding elected office.
- Two liberal nonprofits have vowed to take legal action should Republican presidential primary front-runner Trump’s name appear on the ballot.
What they’re saying: Schiff told MSNBC Sunday that the 14th Amendment case is a “valid argument,” noting it’s “pretty clear” that if “you engage in acts of insurrection or rebellion against the government, or you give aid and comfort to those who do,” you’re disqualified from running for office.
- “It doesn’t require that you be convicted of insurrection. It just requires that you have engaged in these acts,” said the former member of the House Jan. 6 committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riots to MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. “It’s a disqualification from holding office again, and it fits Donald Trump to a T.”
- Kaine told ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday there’s “a powerful argument to be made” for disqualifying Trump from the 2024 race, though he said he believed it’s “probably going to get resolved in the courts.”
- He added to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that in his view, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol “was designed for a particular purpose at a particular moment, and that was to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power as is laid out in the Constitution.”