Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) is looking for potential legislation that would stop former President Trump from serving in office again. The legislation would fall under the 14th Amendment which stops people from serving on the grounds of “leading an insurrection against the United States.”
Cicilline, who was an impeachment manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial, sent a letter to his Democratic colleagues presenting the bill. The bill would stop Trump from holding office. While it is not yet clear how the congressman is going to move this bill along with the Congress, the deadline for other lawmakers to co-sponsor the measure is on Thursday.
The letter was sent out on Tuesday night, the same night that Trump decided to announce his 2024 presidential campaign.
In the letter, Cicilline writes that the investigations by the January 6th Select Committee, the 2021 impeachment trials and other reports all point to Trump for being engaged with the Capitol insurrection that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s second impeachment was in January 2021, when he was charged with “incitement of insurrection” after the Capitol attack, however, the Senate acquitted him. The House originally impeached him in 2019 for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” over his dealings with Ukraine. Both times the Senate has acquitted him.
However, Cicilline maintains that Trump should not be allowed to hold office “under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, known as the “Disqualification Clause.” According to the 14th Amendment individuals who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” are barred from serving in office again.
