Tuesday, Republican Representatives Elise Stefanik and Matt Gaetz introduced a resolution stating that former President Trump did not participate in any form of insurrection against the United States.
More than sixty Republican co-sponsors have signed the one-page resolution, which comes as groups across the nation attempt to disqualify Trump from appearing on ballots for the 2024 presidential election on the grounds that he participated in an uprising during the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Language in the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits from office those who have participated in an insurrection is the source of the efforts to exactly define what Trump’s actions on January 6th did, or did not, amount to.
The Colorado Supreme Court removed Trump from the Republican Party ballot in December; the court will reconsider this decision on Thursday.
The bill was mentioned by Gaetz on Tuesday at a press conference where he was joined by over ten co-sponsors.
“We are here today to authoritatively express that President Trump did not commit an insurrection, and we believe Congress has a unique role in making that declaration. It’s not the job of the states and especially not the job of some bureaucrats in Colorado to make this assessment and interfere with the right of voters to cast their vote for the candidate of their choice.” Gaetz said.
Trump has been disqualified from the ballot in Maine, in addition to Colorado. However, that decision has been stayed pending the outcome of the high court’s ruling.
The resolution’s likelihood of passing in the House, which is controlled by the Republicans due to their narrow majority, remains uncertain.
However, certain House Republicans may find the decision challenging as Trump endeavors to reclaim the party nomination for 2024.
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