Chuck Schumer will introduce a bill in the Senate today to declare explicitly that presidents do not have immunity from criminal conduct, overriding last month’s supreme court ruling that Donald Trump has some immunity for his actions as president.
The No Kings Act, which would apply to presidents and vice-presidents, has more than two dozen Democratic co-sponsors.
“Given the dangerous and consequential implications of the court’s ruling, legislation would be the fastest and most efficient method to correcting the grave precedent the Trump ruling presented,” the Senate majority leader said in a statement.
“With this glaring and partisan overreach, Congress has an obligation – and a constitutional authority – to act as a check and balance to the judicial branch.”
The bill would stipulate that Congress, rather than the supreme court, has the authority to determine to whom federal criminal laws are applied.
Last month the supreme court’s conservative majority ruled Trump has broad immunity from criminal prosecution for his actions while in office, drawing sharp criticism over the impact it could have on the justice department’s case against Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Joe Biden responded to the ruling earlier this week by calling for an overhaul of the supreme court and for a constitutional amendment that would limit the power of the executive branch, including a stipulation that presidents do not have immunity from federal criminal acts.
“This nation was founded on the principle there are no kings in America, each of us is equal before the law,” the president said in a statement after the ruling.
He noted Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent, in which she said, “In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law. With fear for our democracy, I dissent.”
Biden added: “So should the American people dissent. I dissent.”
Kamala Harris, the vice-president and frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, also backed Biden’s calls for court reform, including enacting term limits and new ethics rules for justices.
Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, has praised the supreme court ruling as a victory for Trump. “Today’s ruling by the court is a victory for former President Trump and all future presidents, and another defeat for President Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice and Jack Smith,” he wrote.
