House Democrats introduced a package of reforms on Wednesday that they say will “prevent future presidential abuses.”
The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Our Democracy Act, seeks to counter the sort of issues put on display by President Trump and members of his administration with a variety of proposals introduced by seven House committee leaders at the behest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
To “prevent presidential abuses,” the Democrats proposed prohibiting the president from pardoning himself or herself, suspending the statute of limitations for a federal offense committed by a president or vice president while in office, and strengthening the foreign and domestic emoluments clause of the Constitution.
The Democrats, which include House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, also expressed their desire to “restore our system of checks and balances, strengthen accountability, and transparency.” They proposed accomplishing this by expediting the judicial process for congressional subpoenas, enhancing the Impoundment Control Act, and increasing protections for federal whistleblowers. The Hatch Act would also be strengthened, and the penalty for violating it would be increased.
With such reforms in place, the president would have to seek approval from Congress before making a national emergency declaration. The legislation package also seeks to clarify that the president would only be allowed to fire an inspector general “for cause.” Acting heads of agencies would only be allowed to remain in office for 120 days rather than the currently allowed 210 days.
The final section of the legislation is meant to “protect our elections” by increasing requirements for political operatives to contact the FBI and Federal Elections Committee over “certain foreign contacts” and to specify that a “thing of value” in the Federal Election Campaign Act “includes information sought or obtained for political advantage.”
With the Senate controlled by Republicans, the act has little chance of passing this term, but the election is just 41 days away and could have much better prospects if Democrats snag control of the upper chamber and the White House.
“Since taking office, President Trump has placed his own personal and political interests above the national interest by protecting and enriching himself, targeting his political opponents, seeking foreign interference in our elections, eroding transparency, seeking to end accountability, and otherwise abusing the power of his office,” the Democrats said in a statement. “Our democracy is not self-effectuating — it takes work and a commitment to guard it against those who would undermine it, whether foreign or domestic. It is time for Congress to strengthen the bedrock of our democracy and ensure our laws are strong enough to withstand a lawless president.”
