Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Introduction Of The No Kings Act Following The MAGA Supreme Court Decision On Presidential Immunity
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor, announcing the introduction of the No Kings Act, a piece of legislation that reaffirms that Presidents and Vice Presidents do not have immunity for actions that violate federal criminal law and clarifies that Congress, not the Supreme Court, determines to whom federal criminal laws may be applied. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
All of us in school were taught that there are no kings in America – no kings in America. But one month ago, the MAGA Supreme Court effectively placed a crown over Donald Trump’s head.
They ruled that the President of the United States is in essence above the law, that the president is immune in sweeping ways from accountability for “official acts.”
One month ago, I said I’d work with my colleagues on legislation to reverse the damage of the court’s bewildering ruling on immunity.
Today, I am pleased to announce Senate Democrats are taking the next step.
Today, alongside 33 of my Democratic colleagues, I am introducing the No Kings Act.
This legislation is as simple as the name it bears: it reaffirms that presidents do not have immunity from violations of criminal law, and removes the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to hear appeals related to the presidential immunity, which the Constitution explicitly empowers Congress to do.
The MAGA Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity was the very antithesis of the kind of accountability our framers envisioned. It just goes to show you what a morass the Supreme Court is in right now. They’re in a mess. They’re in an ethical morass, and they’re in a substantive morass.
Ethically, the MAGA Supreme Court is suffering a crisis of confidence with the American people, because Justices accept lavish gifts, vacations, cars, from hard-right, wealthy people who are then paying different groups and lawyers to lobby for what they want. And then Justices turn around and ram through scores of hard-right decisions. The two happen sometimes all to close to one another in time.
Substantively, the MAGA Supreme Court is taking away the rights of Americans at every opportunity – like a woman’s right to choose and others – and siding with the big special interests against the average person.
And, again, the MAGA Supreme Court is undermining our Constitution and throwing out centuries of precedent by anointing Donald Trump and future presidents as kings above the law. And make no mistake about it: we have a very strong argument that Congress by statute can undo what the Supreme Court does, that it does not require a Constitutional Amendment.
The bottom line is this: no democracy can hope to survive if it cannot ensure accountability. And if the Supreme Court can no longer be trusted to serve as its own check on ethics or on following precedent and helping the American people, Congress must use all of its tools to restore trust and accountability to the highest court in the land.
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