Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who is soon to become a key swing vote for the Democrats in the United States Senate, told PBS’s “Firing Line” that Congress should consider using the 14th Amendment’s section 3, which provides a way for Congress to expel one of its own, to punish Republicans who objected to certifying the Electoral College vote.
Manchin made the statement specifically in regard to Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), who were the first to agree to raise objections to certifying certain states’ Electoral College votes in the Senate — an extreme position akin to that taken by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Asked whether he’d consider using the 14th Amendment as a potential remedy for Republican malfeasance, Manchin said he was open to the possibility and that Cruz, particularly, should expect it.
“That should be a consideration,” he said. “[Ted Cruz] understands that. Ted’s a very bright individual, and I get along fine with Ted, but what he did was totally outside of the realm of our responsibilities or our privileges.”
The 14th Amendment’s section 3 provides that Congress can expel any member that “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [United States], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” A member may be expelled on a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress — no easy task.
Although Democrats and media figures have tried to tie both Hawley and Cruz to the riots hat overtook the Capitol on January 6th, both legislators are mostly responsible for leading a Congressional charge to question vote totals in key states, like Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
And although Hawley and… (Read more)
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