Democrats and legal scholars exploring ways to bar Trump from holding office over Jan. 6: report

A handful of Democratic politicians, constitutional scholars and pro-democracy activists have been exploring how a post-Civil War amendment could be used to disqualify former President Donald Trump from holding office ever again, according to a new report.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says that any officeholders that “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same” are disqualified from future office. This was added after the Civil War to prevent “unrepentant” Confederate politicians from holding national office as Representatives and Senators, but is now being considered by those who would like to bar Trump from office.

Efforts have settled down since the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill last year, but a report in The Hill says many quietly continue to stay engaged with the topic.

“If anything, the idea has waxed and waned,” Laurence Tribe, a constitutional expert at Harvard Law School, told The Hill. “I hear it being raised with considerable frequency these days both by media commentators and by members of Congress and their staffs, some of whom have sought my advice on how to implement Section 3.”

Among those whose offices have spoken recently with Tribe are Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who sits on the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

“I continue to explore all legal paths to ensure that the people who tried to subvert our democracy are not in charge of it,” Wasserman Schultz told The Hill.

Raskin is a former constitutional law professor who served as a House manager during Trump’s impeachment trial over his role in the Jan. 6 riot. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

Many constitutional scholars say that Section 3 is not “self-executing,” meaning it must be applied to someone through an action by lawmakers. Some say a simple majority vote in both chambers may be sufficient.

Other experts, like Tribe, say Congress would need to first prove Trump was engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” under Section 3, either by establishing a neutral fact-finding committee or through federal courts.