Senate Democrats propose No Kings Act to override Trump immunity ruling

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) mounted an endeavor on Thursday to reverse the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling giving sitting presidents legal immunity for official acts.

The undertaking, by way of legislation dubbed the No Kings Act, comes in the wake of President Joe Biden pushing a series of changes for the high court, which include a constitutional amendment to undo former President Donald Trump being given immunity for official acts last month in the case against him for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Schumer maintained that Congress has the authority under the Constitution to override the ruling itself without requiring a constitutional amendment.

“We have a very strong argument that Congress by statute can undo what the Supreme Court does, that it does not require a constitutional amendment,” Schumer said. “No democracy can hope to survive if it cannot ensure accountability, and if the Supreme Court can no longer be trusted to serve as its own check on ethics or on following precedent and helping the American people, Congress must use all its tools to restore trust and accountability to the highest court in the land.”

Roughly two-thirds of the Senate Democratic Caucus, 34 of its 51 members, have co-sponsored the legislation. That includes Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who’s battling for reelection in a swing state, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), the chairman of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm. Notably, several other vulnerable Democrats up for reelection declined to attach their names.

The No Kings Act has no viability in a divided Congress, but it provides Democrats more campaign material ahead of the November elections and supplements Biden’s proposal, which also entails term limits for justices and an enforceable ethics code.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) accused Biden and Democrats writ large of seeking to “shred the Constitution.”

“Never mind what the Constitution says. Never mind the advice-and-consent role of the Senate,” McConnell said earlier this week. “President Biden and his leftist allies don’t like the current composition of the Court, so they want to shred the Constitution to change it.”

The No Kings Act would accomplish its goals by essentially further empowering Congress while curtailing the authority of the Supreme Court. It would declare that Congress, not the Supreme Court, determines to whom federal law is applied to invalidate the immunity ruling.

In addition, the legislation would remove the high court’s ability to hear legal challenges mounted against it and instead require them to be handled by the District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals would be settled by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The No Kings Act would allow the federal government to charge presidents or vice presidents in any applicable district court or the District Court for the District of Columbia.