A New York congressman is launching a bid to amend the U.S. Constitution, with the goal of reversing this year’s blockbuster Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. 

Rochester-area Congressman Joe Morelle, a Democrat, is proposing the amendment.

He calls the decision by the court’s conservative majority, which largely prevents the prosecution of former presidents for criminal conduct in office, “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Joe Morelle, D-NY, is proposing an amendment to reverse the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. 

  • Earlier this month, the court's conservative majority declared that presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts that fall within their "exclusive sphere of constitutional authority." 
  • Morelle's proposal is a long shot, requiring approval from two-thirds of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, and then ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. 

“The founders, when they built the Constitution, tried to make sure that no one is above the law in the United States, and Donald Trump is not above the law,” Morelle said. “The court, I think, ruled specifically to help Donald Trump.”

Morelle’s amendment, as drafted, declares that “no officer of the United States, including the President and the Vice President, or a Senator or Representative in Congress, shall be immune from criminal prosecution for any violation of otherwise valid Federal law, nor for any violation of State law unless the alleged criminal act was authorized by valid Federal law.”

The amendment also would bar a president from pardoning themself. 

Jonathan Nash, who teaches at Emory University School of Law, said if this amendment were on the books, the justices may have proceeded differently.

“The lower court — the DC Circuit — unanimously rejected the idea of presidential criminal immunity. And I think the Supreme Court would have been much closer to simply affirming that,” he said.

The immunity case was brought by former President Donald Trump in response to one of his four indictments. The ruling was roundly condemned by Democrats on Capitol Hill. 

Morelle’s proposal is a long shot, requiring approval from two-thirds of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, and then ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. 

“We're prepared for the long game here,” the Rochester-area congressman said. 

President Joe Biden is also calling for reversing the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. He launched his own push for a constitutional amendment Monday, alongside his proposals to reform the Supreme Court.