Democrats want to bar Trump from office using the 14th Amendment. Will it work?

How a post-Civil War era rule could keep Trump out of the White House for good

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images)

Following months of self-fueled speculation, former President Donald Trump made it official on Tuesday and announced his candidacy for a second term in the White House. And while his third run for office will take place under decidedly different circumstances than his first two bids for the presidency, he remains a uniquely potent force in conservative politics and, for now, stands as the dominating frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

Faced with the very real prospect of a twice-impeached former president returning to office after instigating the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol, some congressional Democrats — as well as several government accountability groups — have begun exploring whether they can bar Trump from the White House entirely. Their plan? Use a century-and-a-half-old constitutional amendment crafted in the wake of the Civil War.

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.