POLITICS

“Stopping Trump: Can Congress Prevent His Presidency? ”

USAThu Dec 26 2024
Did you know that the U. S. Constitution might actually prevent Donald Trump from returning to the presidency? It's true! There’s a provision in the 14th Amendment that says a president-elect can’t take office if they've been involved in an insurrection against the Constitution. This has already been proved in several legal cases, including Trump’s second impeachment trial and a Colorado court hearing. Even the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol attack has found strong evidence that Trump did indeed engage in insurrection. But here's where it gets complicated. The U. S. Supreme Court has said that states can't disqualify candidates for federal office based on the 14th Amendment. They think Congress needs to pass new laws to make this happen. But Congress might have the power to reject electoral votes anyway, especially since the Constitution gives them the unique job of counting these votes. Let’s break this down. First, the electoral vote-counting process is designed to deal with disputes, according to the Electoral Count Act of 1887. If an elector is disqualified, like Trump might be, their votes shouldn’t count. This would reduce the number of votes needed for someone to become president. In theory, if all of Trump’s votes were tossed out, Kamala Harris could become president. Of course, it’s no secret that congressional Republicans might not want this to happen. But Democrats have a responsibility to stand up for the Constitution. It’s their job to make sure the president-elect is qualified to hold the office. It’s all about following the rules and protecting our country’s laws.

questions

    How would the dismissal of Trump’s electoral votes impact the electoral process and the resulting presidency?
    If Trump were disqualified, who would be the next president according to the Electoral Count Act? Scooby-Doo or maybe a well-trained parrot?
    How might the constitutionality of Congress disqualifying Trump based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment be challenged?

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