Democrats Push to Limit Trump's Power After Supreme Court Ruling

Democrats are launching a push to limit the powers of the presidency following a Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential immunity. Top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, is spearheading the effort, which aims to close statutory loopholes that could allow a president to trample on constitutional rights.

Top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, is leading a push to limit the powers of the presidency following a Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential immunity. The effort comes as Democrats eye ways to limit former President Trump's abilities that were widened by the high court's decision.

Raskin, joined by former GOP Rep. Joe Walsh, unveiled the "No Dictators Declaration," a pledge urging members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to sign. The declaration is aimed at "protecting the freedoms of the people by closing statutory loopholes that could allow a president to exploit the executive power to trample constitutional freedom and liberty."

Democrats Push to Limit Trump's Power After Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court's decision stemmed from Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into Trump and his allies' alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The court's conservative majority granted the office of the president broad immunity for "official" acts, leaving the specifics to be determined by lower courts.

Raskin outlined five pillars of the pledge:

Democrats Push to Limit Trump's Power After Supreme Court Ruling

1. Limiting the president's power to declare bogus domestic and foreign emergencies to seize power and bypass congressional authority.

2. Restricting the president's ability to use the Insurrection Act to deploy the military domestically against the people.

Democrats Push to Limit Trump's Power After Supreme Court Ruling

3. Preventing the adoption of partisan, personal, and ideological loyalty tests designed to purge the professional civil service.

4. Ensuring that presidents who abuse their powers can be prosecuted like any other citizen.

Democrats Push to Limit Trump's Power After Supreme Court Ruling

5. Constraining the president's ability to use investigative and prosecutorial resources to pursue personal political vendettas.

Raskin did not mention Trump by name, but his comments alluded to a host of accusations that have been lodged against the former president. Walsh, a vocal Trump critic, strongly suggested that Trump inspired the effort, noting that it brought together himself and Raskin despite their political differences.

"We're locked in arms right now because we have somebody running for president who has promised to be a dictator," Walsh said. "This is a bipartisan effort every member of the House and every member of the Senate should easily sign and pledge that they don't want – we will not have a dictator as president."

Raskin expressed hope that the effort could turn into legislative action if Democrats win the House majority in November. He suggested that hearings on executive branch overreach and weakness to tyrants could lead to a legislative package addressing these structural deficiencies.

The "No Dictators Declaration" emphasizes that it is not a partisan issue and urges members of Congress from both parties to sign in defense of the constitutional order against presidents who would trample the freedoms of the people.