At this point, it’s simply embarrassing. During the waning days of his failed presidency, Joe Biden has decided to simply declare amendments to the Constitution, announcing, without the power to do so or any legal ruling to support it, that the Equal Rights Amendment is the 28th Amendment.
Aimed at “ensuring equal rights regardless of sex,” the Equal Rights Amendment was originally passed by Congress in 1972, requiring ratification by 38 states by March of 1979 to become a constitutional amendment. After decades of inactivity, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment in 2020, over four decades past the deadline.
Last month, the U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan said that the ERA could not be certified because of “established legal, judicial and procedural decisions” and called on new action from Congress. “The underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed,” a spokesperson for the National Archives told Axios.
“It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” Biden said in a brief written statement.
He gave no explanation for he waited until the waning days of his presidency to take action (because it’s likely just leftwing staffers taking advantage of an addled old man).
Correct. He’s just a delusional old man living in a fantasy world of make-believe. https://t.co/hhpXqWCNDR
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) January 17, 2025
“It’s unclear whether Biden’s action is more than an eleventh-hour use of what remains of his presidential platform. The president has no constitutional role in ratifying amendments — he cannot order the archivist to publish it — and Biden leaves office Monday morning,” reported The Washington Post.
The president’s action have less impact on the Constitution but serves as a warning for the weekend, when his pardons are likely to be announced.
Pardon Weekend is gonna be wild. https://t.co/74FHOa87Mj
— 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 ⚓️ (@Jay__Cost) January 17, 2025
Biden has long been expected to do “preemptive pardons” for those who could be investigated under a Trump administration, including several of his own White House staff and Anthony Fauci.
