Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is spearheading legislation to classify former President Donald Trump's actions during the Jan. 6 riot as unofficial.
"We Democrats will not let the Supreme Court's decision stand unaddressed. The Constitution makes plain that Congress has the authority to check the judiciary through appropriate legislation," Schumer said on the Senate floor, the Washington Examiner reported.
"I will work with my colleagues on legislation classifying Trump's election subversion acts as unofficial acts not subject to immunity."
The Supreme Court reaffirmed presidents have immunity for official acts earlier this month.
But Schumer claims the Supreme Court justices "incorrectly declared that former President Trump enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he took while in office."
"They incorrectly declared that all future presidents are entitled to a breathtaking level of immunity so long as their conduct is ostensibly carried out in their official capacity as president," he added.
Schumer also emphasized the importance of holding presidents accountable for actions that he claims undermine democratic processes.
"We're doing this because we believe that in America, no president should be free to overturn an election against the will of the people, no matter what the conservative justices may believe," he said.
The bill's details are still undecided, and there would likely be challenges in moving the legislation forward in the Senate, where Democrats hold a very slim majority in a chamber that requires 60 votes for approval.
Schumer argued that the conservative justices' ruling has "effectively placed a crown on Donald Trump's head" and signaled that Senate Democrats would seek further measures to address what he described as an abuse of the federal judiciary.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., strongly opposed Schumer's initiative.
"Democrats seem to want to turn Washington into The Hague," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
"Their problem with the Supreme Court isn't that they won't be able to prosecute a president for unofficial criminal activity — because they still can. Their problem is that they won't be able to prosecute official actions that they don't like."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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