112-614: The Foreign Emoluments Clause is a provision in Article I , Section 9 , Clause 8 of the United States Constitution , that prohibits the federal government from granting titles of nobility , and restricts members of the federal government from receiving gifts , emoluments , offices or titles from foreign states and monarchies without the consent of the United States Congress . Also known as
224-433: A Bill of Rights . Richard Henry Lee warned that such distinctions were inherently dangerous under accepted principles of statutory construction , which would inevitably "give many general undefined powers to congress" if left unchecked. Why then by a negative clause, restrain congress from doing what it would have no power to do? This clause, then, must have no meaning, or imply, that were it omitted, congress would have
336-584: A blind trust . As the Office of Legal Counsel has advised, the Constitution is violated when the holder of an "Office of Profit or Trust", like the President, receives money from a partnership or similar entity in which he has a stake, and the amount he receives is "a function of the amount paid to the [entity] by the foreign government." This is because such a setup would allow the entity to "in effect be
448-601: A separation of powers among the three branches of the federal government . This separation of powers, by which each branch may exercise only its own constitutional powers and no others, is fundamental to the idea of a limited government accountable to the people. The separation of powers principle is particularly significant for Congress. The Constitution declares that the Congress may exercise only those legislative powers "herein granted" within Article I (as later limited by
560-525: A Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section 1 is a vesting clause that bestows federal legislative power exclusively to Congress. Similar clauses are found in Article II , which confers executive power upon the president alone, and Article III , which grants judicial power solely to the federal judiciary. These three articles create
672-683: A President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of the President of the United States. Antibribery The International Anti-Bribery and Fair Competition Act of 1998 ( Pub. L. 105–366 (text) (PDF) , 112 Stat. 3302 , enacted November 10, 1998 ) is a United States federal law that amends the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by implementing
784-573: A bill and the president to sign into law an act to reapportion the House from since the ratification of the constitution up until 1941, which is when a self-executing statute was enacted, thus making reapportionment an automatic process. Although the first sentence in this clause originally concerned apportionment of both House seats and taxes among the several states, the Fourteenth Amendment sentence that replaced it in 1868 mentioned only
896-411: A conduit for that government", and so the government official would be exposed to possible "undue influence and corruption by [the] foreign government." The Department of Defense has expressly held that "this same rationale applies to distributions from limited liability corporations." Foreign states often present the President of the United States with gifts. While President, George Washington received
1008-474: A criticism on nobility in general, wrote: Dignities and high sounding names have different effects on different beholders. The lustre of the Star and the title of My Lord, over-awe the superstitious vulgar, and forbid them to inquire into the character of the possessor: Nay more, they are, as it were, bewitched to admire in the great, the vices they would honestly condemn in themselves. This sacrifice of common sense
1120-545: A house of Congress exercising its Section 5 authority to "judge...the...qualifications of its own members" or by a state in its exercise of its Section 4 authority to prescribe the "times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives." The Supreme Court, as well as other federal courts , have repeatedly barred states from additional restrictions, such as imposing term limits on members of Congress, allowing members of Congress to be subject to recall elections , or requiring that Representatives live in
1232-487: A move would be wise and consistent with America's best political traditions and practices." After China provisionally granted 38 "Trump" trademarks in March 2017, Democratic senators protested Trump's acceptance of the trademarks without congressional approval. In December 2018, there were reports of Saudi Arabia indirectly funneling funds to Donald Trump through Trump businesses , such as his hotels, that may be in breach of
SECTION 10
#17327804239791344-471: A necessary sacrifice to that spirit of conciliation, which was indispensable to the union of states having a great diversity of interests, and physical condition, and political institutions". Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) later superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and explicitly repealed the compromise. Following the completion of each census, Congress is empowered to use
1456-590: A painting of, and key to, the Bastille from the Marquis de Lafayette , as "a tribute Which I owe as A Son to My Adoptive father." After leaving office, Washington also took home to Mount Vernon a painting of Louis XIV that he had received as a gift from a French diplomat who had been his aide during the American war of independence. However, nothing is known about Washington's motivations, or whether he considered
1568-529: A positive converse. A common example of this is how the Commerce Clause represents the positive converse to the restrictions imposed by the Dormant (or "Negative") Commerce Clause . However, neither an express nor implied positive grant of authority exists as a balance against the restrictions imposed by the clause. For this reason, the clause was cited by Anti-Federalists who supported the adoption of
1680-426: A practical matter, the limitation of Congress's ability to investigate only for a proper purpose ("in aid of" its legislative powers) functions as a limit on Congress's ability to investigate the private affairs of individual citizens; matters that simply demand action by another branch of government, without implicating an issue of public policy necessitating legislation by Congress, must be left to those branches due to
1792-471: A replacement to serve out the remainder of the senator's term. If the state legislature was not in session, its governor could appoint a temporary replacement to serve until the legislature could elect a permanent replacement. This was superseded by the Seventeenth Amendment , which provided for the popular election of senators, instead of their appointment by the state legislature. In a nod to
1904-487: A result, including: three presidents ( Andrew Johnson , Bill Clinton , and Donald Trump , twice), two Cabinet secretaries ( William W. Belknap and Alejandro Mayorkas ), one senator ( William Blount ), one Supreme Court associate justice ( Samuel Chase ), and fourteen federal judges . Also, notably, impeachment proceedings compelled the resignation of President Richard Nixon . The Constitution does not specify how impeachment proceedings are to be initiated. Until
2016-459: A six-year term. Section 3 originally required that the state legislatures elect the members of the Senate, but the Seventeenth Amendment , ratified in 1913, provides for the direct election of senators. Section 3 lays out various other rules for the Senate, including a provision that establishes the vice president of the United States as the president of the Senate. Section 4 of Article One grants
2128-449: A view of titles. He felt that if a title is ascending , that is, it is achieved through hard work during a person's lifetime, it is good because it encourages the title holder's posterity to aspire to achieve the same or greater title; however, Franklin commented, that if a title is descending , that is, it is passed down from the title holder to his posterity, then it is: groundless and absurd, but often hurtful to that Posterity, since it
2240-616: Is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate . Article One grants Congress various enumerated powers and the ability to pass laws " necessary and proper " to carry out those powers. Article One also establishes the procedures for passing a bill and places various limits on the powers of Congress and the states from abusing their powers. Article One's Vesting Clause grants all federal legislative power to Congress and establishes that Congress consists of
2352-476: Is also limited to inquiries that are "in aid of the legislative function"; Congress may not "expose for the sake of exposure". It is uncontroversial that a proper subject of Congress's investigation power is the operations of the federal government, but Congress's ability to compel the submission of documents or testimony from the president or his subordinates is often-discussed and sometimes controversial (see executive privilege ), although not often litigated. As
SECTION 20
#17327804239792464-434: Is also alike necessary in all similar ones. According to Lee, the true purpose of the clause was merely to protect popular tradition: "The fact appears to be, that the people in forming the confederation, and the convention ... acted naturally; they did not leave the point to be settled by general principles and logical inferences; but they settle the point in a few words, and all who read them at once understand them." It
2576-713: Is apt to make them proud, disdaining to be employ'd in useful Arts, and thence falling into Poverty, and all the Meannesses, Servility, and Wretchedness attending it; which is the present case with much of what is called the Noblesse in Europe. One of the first issues that the United States Senate dealt with was the title of president. Vice President John Adams called the senators' attention to this pressing procedural matter. Most senators were averse to calling
2688-422: Is constitutionally unique in other respects. First, it is a "negative" clause—a restriction prohibiting the passage of legislation for a particular purpose. Such restrictions are unusual in that the Constitution has been historically interpreted to reflect specific (i.e., "positive") sources of power, relinquished by the states in their otherwise sovereign capacities. Moreover, it is a negative clause without
2800-686: Is fair to say that qualifications beyond citizenship, residency, and age are usually questionable. In the 1960s, the Supreme Court started to view voting as a fundamental right covered by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a dissenting opinion of a 1964 Supreme Court case involving reapportionment in the Alabama state legislature, Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II included Minor v. Happersett (an 1875 case which allowed states to deny women
2912-443: Is guaranteed at least one Representative, exact population equality between all districts is not guaranteed and, in fact, is currently impossible, because while the size of the House of Representatives is fixed at 435, several states had less than 1/435 of the national population at the time of the last reapportionment in 2020. However, the Supreme Court has interpreted the provision of Clause One that Representatives shall be elected "by
3024-499: Is the certain badge which distinguishes slavery from freedom; for when men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon. He felt that titles blinded people from seeing the true character of a person by providing titled individuals a lustre . Many Americans connected titles with the corruption that they had experienced from Great Britain, while others, like Benjamin Franklin , did not have as negative
3136-516: Is up for re-election every two years, but the entire body is never up for re-election in the same year (as contrasted with the House, where its entire membership is up for re-election every 2 years). As originally established, senators were elected by the Legislature of the State they represented in the Senate. If a senator died, resigned, or was expelled, the legislature of the state would appoint
3248-561: The 1920 census , Congress failed to apportion the House, with the House using the allocations of the Apportionment Act of 1911 until after the 1932 elections, which was the date determined by Congress after it passed and the president signed the Reapportionment Act of 1929 . This resulted in the representation within the House to remain frozen for twenty years. Reapportionment of the House required Congress to pass
3360-572: The District of Columbia full representation in the Congress without also granting it statehood. Their argument is that an amendment that would allow a non-state district to have two senators would deprive the states of their equal suffrage in the Senate and would therefore require unanimous ratification by all the states. Those in favor of the amendment have argued that the States are merely entitled to equal suffrage amongst one another, and that granting
3472-412: The Reapportionment Act of 1929 , a constant 435 House seats have been apportioned among the states according to each census, and determining the size of the House is not presently part of the apportionment process. With one exception, the apportionment of 1842, the House of Representatives had been enlarged by various degrees from sixty-five members in 1788 to 435 members by 1913. The determination of size
Foreign Emoluments Clause - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-406: The Senate on April 27, 1810, by a vote of 19–5 and the House of Representatives on May 1, 1810, by a vote of 87–3, the amendment, titled "Article Thirteen" , was sent to the state legislatures for ratification. On two occasions between 1812 and 1816 it was within two states of the number needed to become a valid part of the Constitution. As Congress did not set a time limit for its ratification,
3696-465: The Tenth Amendment ). It also, by implied extension, prohibits Congress from delegating its legislative authority to either of the other branches of government, a rule known as the nondelegation doctrine . However, the Supreme Court has ruled that Congress does have the latitude to delegate regulatory powers to executive agencies as long as it provides an "intelligible principle" which governs
3808-754: The Titles of Nobility Clause , it was designed to shield the federal officeholders of the United States against so-called "corrupting foreign influences". The clause is reinforced by the corresponding prohibition on state titles of nobility in Article I, Section 10 , and more generally by the Republican Guarantee Clause in Article IV, Section 4 . No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without
3920-511: The US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability released their White House for Sale: How Princes, Prime Ministers, and Premiers Paid Off President Trump report detailing over $ 7.8 million in payments from foreign governments to Trump-owned businesses. After Republicans took control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections , the committee stopped requesting financial records from Trump's accounting firm, Mazars , leading
4032-682: The Vietnam and Gulf Wars . Presidents Obama and Trump both received the Collar of the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud from Saudi Arabia , a decoration frequently given to heads of state. The New York Times has reported that, according to two defense officials, the Army is investigating whether Michael T. Flynn "received money from the Russian government during a trip he took to Moscow in 2015" while he
4144-458: The income tax to income derived from real estate and specifically income in the form of dividends from personal property ownership such as stock shares was found to be unconstitutional because it was not apportioned among the states; that is to say, there was no guarantee that a State with 10% of the country's population paid 10% of those income taxes collected, because Congress had not fixed an amount of money to be raised and apportioned it between
4256-441: The three-fifths compromise , was a compromise between Southern and Northern states in which three-fifths of the population of slaves would be counted for enumeration purposes and for the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives and of taxes among the states. It was, according to Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story (writing in 1833 ), a "matter of compromise and concession, confessedly unequal in its operation, but
4368-647: The Clause as a key "provision against the danger ... of the president receiving emoluments from foreign powers." The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel has opined that [t]he language of the Emoluments Clause is both sweeping and unqualified. See 49 Comp. Gen. 819, 821 (1970) (the "drafters [of the Clause] intended the prohibition to have the broadest possible scope and applicability"). It prohibits those holding offices of profit or trust under
4480-610: The Clause. The word "emolument" has a broad meaning. At the time of the Founding, it meant "profit", "benefit", or "advantage" of any kind. Because of the "sweeping and unqualified" nature of the constitutional prohibition, and in light of the more sophisticated understanding of conflicts of interest that developed after the Richard Nixon presidency, most modern presidents have chosen to eliminate any risk of conflict of interest that may arise by choosing to vest their assets into
4592-486: The Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. The Framers' intentions for this clause were twofold: to prevent a society of nobility from being established in the United States, and to protect the republican forms of government from being influenced by other governments. In Federalist No. 22 , Alexander Hamilton stated, "One of
Foreign Emoluments Clause - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-522: The District of Columbia Circuit . Two other lawsuits, CREW v. Trump and D.C. and Maryland v. Trump , were dismissed as moot on January 25, 2021, by the Supreme Court vacating lower court decisions that went against Trump, because he was no longer in office. The court's decision effectively ended all litigation against Trump on the emoluments issue. In January 2024, Democratic members of
4816-794: The Elephant . Congress has also consented in advance to the receipt from foreign governments by officials of the United States government (including military personnel) of a variety of gifts, subject to a variety of conditions, in the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act and section 108A of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, otherwise known as the Fulbright–Hays Act of 1961 . Under these rules numerous foreign decorations have been awarded to American military and civilian personnel, such as for diplomatic service or during
4928-591: The Emoluments Clause. The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , including former White House lawyers Norm Eisen and Richard Painter , filed a lawsuit against Trump alleging violations of the clause, including the acceptance of the Chinese trademarks. One of these lawsuits, Blumenthal v. Trump , was dismissed on standing grounds by the United States Court of Appeals for
5040-619: The Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. After
5152-536: The Framers expressed a rather explicit intent that the House was to be directly elected. Since the Civil War , several constitutional amendments have been enacted that have curbed the states' broad powers to set voter qualification standards. Though never enforced, clause 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that "when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for president and vice president of
5264-644: The French monarch: "By the Grace of God, Most Christian King of France and Navarre." Some senators favored "His Elective Majesty" or "His Excellency " (the latter of which would become the standard form of address for elected presidents of later republics). James Madison , a member of the House of Representatives , declared that the European titles were ill-suited for the "genius of the people" and "the nature of our Government". Washington became completely embarrassed with
5376-420: The House of Representatives shall choose its Speaker and its other officers. Though the Constitution does not mandate it, every Speaker has been a member of the House of Representatives. The Speaker rarely presides over routine House sessions, choosing instead to deputize a junior member to accomplish the task. Finally, Section Two grants to the House of Representatives the sole power of impeachment . Although
5488-480: The House of Representatives and the Senate. In combination with the vesting clauses of Article Two and Article Three, the Vesting Clause of Article One establishes the separation of powers among the three branches of the federal government. Section 2 of Article One addresses the House of Representatives, establishing that members of the House are elected every two years, with congressional seats apportioned to
5600-442: The House to serve as the prosecution team in the impeachment trial in the Senate (see Section 3, Clause 6 below). The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. The first Clause of Section Three provides that each state is entitled to have two senators, who would be elected by its state legislature (now by
5712-448: The House. No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. A senator must be at least 30 years of age, must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years before being elected, and must reside in
SECTION 50
#17327804239795824-633: The People" to mean that, in those states with more than one member of the House of Representatives, each congressional election district within the state must have nearly identical populations. No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. The Constitution provides three requirements for Representatives: A Representative must be at least 25 years old, must be an inhabitant of
5936-441: The President is referred to as His Excellency . In 1810, Democratic–Republican Senator Philip Reed of Maryland introduced a Constitutional amendment expanding upon this clause's ban on titles of nobility. Under the terms of this amendment any United States citizen who accepted, claimed, received or retained any title of nobility from a foreign government would be stripped of their U.S. citizenship. After being approved by
6048-530: The Senate." Thus, no individual state may have its individual representation in the Senate adjusted without its consent. That is to say, an amendment that directly changed this clause to provide that all states would get only one senator (or three senators, or any other number) could become valid as part of the Constitution if ratified by three-fourths of the states; however, one that provided for some basis of representation other than strict numerical equality (for example, population, wealth, or land area), would require
6160-561: The State they will represent at the time of the election. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Qualifications Clause as an exclusive list of qualifications that cannot be supplemented by a House of Congress exercising its Section 5 authority to "Judge... the... Qualifications of its own Members," or by a state in its exercise of its Section 4 authority to prescribe the "Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives,..." The Vice President of
6272-475: The States according to their respective shares of the national population. To permit the levying of such an income tax, Congress proposed and the states ratified the Sixteenth Amendment , which removed the restriction by specifically providing that Congress could levy a tax on income "from whatever source derived" without it being apportioned among the States or otherwise based on a State's share of
6384-553: The Supreme Court has not had an occasion to interpret this specific provision, the Court has suggested that the grant to the House of the " sole " power of impeachment makes the House the exclusive interpreter of what constitutes an impeachable offense. This power, which is analogous to the bringing of criminal charges by a grand jury , has been used only rarely. The House has begun impeachment proceedings 62 times since 1789, and twenty-one federal officials have been formally impeached as
6496-451: The U.S. Constitution places no restrictions on state or local office-holders simultaneously holding federal office , most state constitutions today effectively ban state and local office holders from also holding federal office at the same time by prohibiting federal office holders from also holding state and local office. Unlike other state-mandated restrictions, these sorts of prohibitions are constitutional as long they are enforced purely at
6608-699: The United States Code , this requires advance approval from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the relevant branch of the Armed Services. Retired military officers have voiced concerns through the Retired Officers Association that applying the clause to them but not to retired civil service members is not an equal application of the clause, and therefore unconstitutional. In 1942, Congress authorized members of
6720-458: The United States from accepting "any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever" from "any ... foreign State" unless Congress consents. U.S. Const, art. I, § 9, cl. 8 (emphasis added). ... The decision whether to permit exceptions that qualify the Clause's absolute prohibition or that temper any harshness it may cause is textually committed to Congress, which may give consent to the acceptance of offices or emoluments otherwise barred by
6832-402: The United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. Section Three provides that the vice president is the president of the Senate . Excepting the duty to receive the tally of electoral votes for president, this is the only regular responsibility assigned to the office of the vice president by the Constitution. When serving in this capacity,
SECTION 60
#17327804239796944-416: The United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which
7056-470: The agency's exercise of the delegated regulatory authority. That the power assigned to each branch must remain with that branch, and may be expressed only by that branch, is central to the theory. The nondelegation doctrine is primarily used as a way of interpreting a congressional delegation of authority narrowly, in that the courts presume Congress intended only to delegate that which it certainly could have, unless it clearly demonstrates it intended to "test
7168-423: The aggregate population in all the states (according to the prevailing Constitutional rule for determining population) to determine the relative population of each state to the population of the whole, and, based on its calculations, to establish the appropriate size of the House and to allocate a particular number of representatives to each state according to its share of the national population. Since enactment of
7280-500: The amendment is still technically pending before the states. Currently, ratification by an additional 26 states would be necessary for this amendment to be adopted . Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of the Constitution of the United States establishes the legislative branch of the federal government , the United States Congress . Under Article One, Congress
7392-401: The apportionment of House seats. Even so, the constraint placed upon Congress's taxation power remained, as the restriction was reiterated in Article 1 Section 9 Clause 4. The amount of direct taxes that could be collected by the federal government from the people in any State would still be tied directly to that state's share of the national population. Due to this restriction, application of
7504-506: The armed forces to accept any "decorations, orders, medals and emblems" offered by allied nations during the course of World War II or up to one year following its conclusion. Notably, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower accepted a number of titles and awards pursuant to this authorization after the fall of Nazi Germany , including a knighthood in Denmark's highest order of chivalry, the Order of
7616-673: The command of Art. I, § 2, that Representatives be chosen 'by the People of the several States' means that as nearly as is practicable one man's vote in a congressional election is to be worth as much as another's." Court involvement in this issue developed slowly from an initial practice of electing representatives at-large, until in the late 1940s and the early 1950s the Court used the " political question " doctrine in Baker v. Carr to decline to adjudicate districting and apportionment suits. The Supreme Court has held in Rucho v. Common Cause that there
7728-436: The compensation, privileges, and restrictions of those holding congressional office. Section 7 lays out the procedures for passing a bill, requiring both houses of Congress to pass a bill for it to become law, subject to the veto power of the president of the United States . Under Section 7, the president can veto a bill, but Congress can override the president's veto with a two-thirds vote of both chambers. Section 8 lays out
7840-635: The congressional district in which they represent. A 2002 Congressional Research Service report also found that no state could implement a qualification that a Representative not be a convicted felon or incarcerated. However, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that certain ballot access requirements, such as filing fees and submitting a certain number of valid petition signatures do not constitute additional qualifications and thus few Constitutional restrictions exist as to how harsh ballot access laws can be. Finally, although
7952-469: The doctrine of separation of powers. The courts are highly deferential to Congress's exercise of its investigation powers, however. Congress has the power to investigate that which it could regulate, and the courts have interpreted Congress's regulatory powers broadly since the Great Depression . The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of
8064-544: The early 20th century, a House member could rise and propose an impeachment, which would then be assigned to a committee for investigation upon a formal resolution vote of the judicial committee. Presently, it is the House Judiciary Committee that initiates the process and then, after investigating the allegations, prepares recommendations for the whole House's consideration. If the House votes to adopt an impeachment resolution, " managers " are appointed by
8176-459: The emoluments clause to apply to either gift. Post-Washington Presidents have traditionally sought permission from Congress to keep gifts. Absent permission, the President will deposit the object with the Department of State. For example, Andrew Jackson sought permission from Congress to keep a gold medal presented by Simon Bolivar; Congress refused to grant consent, and so Jackson deposited
8288-456: The executive authority of all states with vacancies to hold a special election within 49 days of the announcement. This election is initiated via a writ of election from the Governor ( 2 U.S.C. § 8(b) ). The House of Representatives shall chuse [ sic ] their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. Section Two further provides that
8400-708: The extensive business and real estate dealings of President Donald Trump , especially with respect to government agencies in other countries, may fall within the clause's scope, but Irish law lecturer Seth Barrett Tillman, of Maynooth University in Ireland , has written that the restriction may not apply to the president, based upon his reading of possible exceptions made during George Washington 's administration. Tillman also wrote that "In order to ensure against ethical conflicts, both real and perceived, Trump should place his interests in those holdings beyond his personal control, i.e., into an independently managed blind trust. Such
8512-544: The federal district Senate representation does not violate that right. Whether unanimous consent of the 50 states would be required for such an amendment to become operative remains an unanswered political question. Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at
8624-662: The first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse [ sic ] three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. After much debate,
8736-534: The first group of senators was elected to the First Congress (1789–1791), the senators were divided into three "classes" as nearly equal in size as possible, as required by this section. This was done in May 1789 by lot . It was also decided that each state's senators would be assigned to two different classes. Those senators grouped in the first class had their term expire after only two years; those senators in
8848-408: The framers of the Constitution decided to make population the basis of apportioning the seats in the House of Representatives and the tax liability among the states. To facilitate this, the Constitution mandates that a census be conducted every ten years to determine the population of each state and of the nation as a whole and establishes a rule for who shall be counted or excluded from the count. As
8960-480: The governors of the states were expressly allowed by the Constitution to make temporary appointments. The current system, under the Seventeenth Amendment, allows governors to appoint a replacement only if their state legislature has previously decided to allow the governor to do so; otherwise, the seat must remain vacant until the special election is held to fill the seat, as in the case of a vacancy in
9072-464: The less populist nature of the Senate, the amendment tracks the vacancy procedures for the House of Representatives in requiring that the governor call a special election to fill the vacancy, but (unlike in the House) it vests in the state legislature the authority to allow the governor to appoint a temporary replacement until the special election is held. Note, however, that under the original Constitution,
9184-669: The medal with the Department of State. Martin Van Buren and John Tyler received gifts from the Imam of Muscat , for which they received congressional authorization either to transfer them to the United States Government or to auction them with proceeds vesting to the United States Treasury . American politician and associate professor of law at Fordham University Zephyr Teachout has argued that
9296-507: The militia's "organizing, arming, disciplining...and governing" and granting Congress the power to declare war . Section 8 also provides Congress the power to establish a federal district to serve as the national capital and gives Congress the exclusive power to administer that district. In addition to various enumerated powers, Section 8 grants Congress the power to make laws necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated powers and other powers vested in it. Section 9 places various limits on
9408-636: The national population. When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. Generally states and territories fill vacancies within the House of Representatives according to their own laws, however when vacancies within the House exceed 100 members, the Speaker of the House will announce "extraordinary circumstances" have occurred, which obligates
9520-444: The new form of government would become operational prior to the completion of a national census, the Constitution also provides for a temporary apportionment of seats. Originally, the population of each state and of the nation as a whole was ascertained by adding to the whole number of free Persons, three-fifths the number of all other Persons (i.e. slaves ), but excluding non-taxed Native Americans . This Constitutional rule, known as
9632-478: The non-payment of a poll tax . The Twenty-sixth Amendment prohibits the denial of the right of US citizens, eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age. Moreover, since the Supreme Court has recognized voting as a fundamental right, the Equal Protection Clause places very tight limitations (albeit with uncertain limits) on the states' ability to define voter qualifications; it
9744-410: The number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State." The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex. The Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to
9856-530: The people of each state), serve for staggered six-year terms, and have one vote each. Through these provisions, adopted following the Connecticut Compromise , the Framers sought to protect the sovereignty and interests of states. This clause has been superseded by the Seventeenth Amendment , ratified in 1913, which, in part, provides as amended , that The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by
9968-545: The people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. Article Five specifies the means by which the Constitution of the United States can be amended. It ends by shielding three Article I clauses from being amended. The clause guaranteeing equal representation is among them. (The others are first and fourth clauses in Section 9, which were amendable after 1808.) Article Five provides that "no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in
10080-437: The power in question, either upon the principle that some general words in the constitution may be so construed as to give it, or on the principle that congress possesses the powers not expressly reserved . But this clause was in the confederation, and is said to be introduced into the constitution from very great caution. Even a cautionary provision implies a doubt, at least, that it is necessary; and if so in this case, clearly it
10192-407: The power of Congress, banning bills of attainder and other practices. Section 10 places limits on the states, prohibiting them from entering into alliances with foreign powers, impairing contracts , taxing imports or exports above the minimum level necessary for inspection, keeping armies, or engaging in war without the consent of Congress. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in
10304-462: The power to coin and regulate money, the power to borrow money on the credit of the United States, the power to establish post offices and post roads, the power to establish federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court , the power to raise and support an army and a navy, the power to call forth the militia "to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions" and to provide for
10416-467: The powers of Congress. It includes several enumerated powers, including the power to lay and collect "taxes, duties, imposts, and excises" (provided duties, imposts, and excises are uniform throughout the United States), "to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States", the power to regulate interstate and international commerce , the power to set naturalization laws ,
10528-509: The president anything that resembled the titles of European monarchs, yet John Adams proceeded to recommend the title: "His Highness, the President of the United States, and Protector of their Liberties," an attempt to imitate the titles of the British monarch: "By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, Prince-Elector of Hannover, Duke of Brunswick" and
10640-611: The provisions of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 's Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions . The act makes it illegal for a citizen or corporation of the United States or a person or corporation acting within the United States to influence, bribe or seek an advantage from a public official of another country. This United States federal legislation article
10752-570: The report to assume that additional payments had occurred. Under interpretations of the Emoluments Clause elaborated by the Comptroller General of the United States and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (but which have never been tested in court) retired military personnel are forbidden from receiving employment, consulting fees, gifts, travel expenses, honoraria, or salary from foreign governments without prior consent from Congress. Per section 908 of title 37 of
10864-576: The right to vote) in a list of past decisions about voting and apportionment which were no longer being followed. In Oregon v. Mitchell (1970), the Supreme Court held that the Qualifications clause did not prevent Congress from overriding state-imposed minimum age restrictions for voters in Congressional elections. Since clause 3 provides that Members of the House of Representatives are apportioned state-by-state and that each state
10976-402: The second class had their term expire after only four years, instead of six. After this, all senators from those states have been elected to six-year terms, and as new states have joined the Union, their Senate seats have been assigned to two of the three classes, maintaining each grouping as nearly equal in size as possible. In this way, election is staggered; approximately one-third of the Senate
11088-587: The several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. Election districts in each state have recently been required to be structured so that each elected representative represents substantially equal populations, based on court interpretations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment , finding that, "construed in its historical context,
11200-435: The state in which he or she is elected, and must have been a citizen of the United States for the previous seven years. There is no requirement that a Representative reside within the district in which he or she represents; although this is usually the case, there have been occasional exceptions. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Qualifications Clause as an exclusive list of qualifications that cannot be supplemented by
11312-534: The state level (i.e. against active federal office holders seeking to obtain or hold a state or local office). Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after
11424-435: The states on the basis of population. Section 2 includes various rules for the House of Representatives, including a provision stating that individuals qualified to vote in elections for the largest chamber of their state's legislature have the right to vote in elections for the House of Representatives. Section 3 addresses the Senate, establishing that the Senate consists of two senators from each state, with each senator serving
11536-491: The states the power to regulate the congressional election process but establishes that Congress can alter those regulations or make its own regulations. Section 4 also requires Congress to assemble at least once per year. Section 5 lays out various rules for both houses of Congress and grants the House of Representatives and the Senate the power to judge their own elections, determine the qualifications of their own members, and punish or expel their own members. Section 6 establishes
11648-438: The topic and so the senators dropped it. From then on the president would simply be called the President of the United States or Mr. President , drawing a sharp distinction between American and European customs. Under the rules of etiquette, the President, Vice President, members of both houses of Congress, governors of states, members of state legislatures , and mayors are accorded the title "The Honorable". Internationally,
11760-456: The unanimous consent of all the states. Denying the states their intended role as joint partners in the federal government by abolishing their equality in the Senate would, according to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase (in Texas v. White ), destroy the grounding of the Union. This Article V provision has been employed by those opposed to contemplated constitutional amendments that would grant
11872-442: The vice president may cast tie-breaking votes . Early in the nation's history, vice presidents frequently presided over the Senate. In modern times, the vice president usually does so only during ceremonial occasions or when a tie in the voting is anticipated. As of August 7, 2022 , there have been 294 tie-breaking votes cast by vice presidents. The Senate shall chuse [ sic ] their other Officers, and also
11984-454: The waters" of what the courts would allow it to do. Although not mentioned in the Constitution, Congress has also long asserted the power to investigate and the power to compel cooperation with an investigation. The Supreme Court has affirmed these powers as an implication of Congress's power to legislate. Since the power to investigate is an aspect of Congress's power to legislate, it is as broad as Congress's powers to legislate. However, it
12096-492: The weak sides of republics, among their numerous advantages, is that they afford too easy an inlet to foreign corruption." Therefore, to counter this "foreign corruption" the delegates at the Constitutional Convention worded the clause in such a way as to act as a catch-all for any attempts by foreign governments to influence state or municipal policies through gifts or titles. The Foreign Emoluments Clause
12208-502: Was a government official. According to the officials, there was no record that Flynn has "filed the required paperwork for the trip", as required by the Emoluments Clause. The issue of titles was of serious importance to the American Revolutionaries and the Framers of the Constitution. Some felt that titles of nobility had no place in an equal and just society because they clouded people's judgment. Thomas Paine , in
12320-483: Was argued, therefore, that a Bill of Rights was needed to safeguard against the expansion of federal power beyond such limited purpose(s). The prohibition against officers receiving a present or emolument is essentially an antibribery rule to prevent influence by a foreign power. At the Virginia Ratifying Convention, Edmund Randolph, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, identified
12432-413: Was made based on the aggregate national population, so long as the size of the House did not exceed 1 member for every 30,000 of the country's total population nor the size of any state's delegation exceed 1 for every 30,000 of that state's population. With the size of the House still fixed at 435, the current ratio, as of the 2020 Census , is around 1 Representative per 760,000 Persons. However, after
12544-479: Was no "constitutional directive" nor any "legal standards to guide" the Court in claims of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering , and such claims today are considered nonjusticiable. At the time of its creation, the Constitution did not explicitly give citizens an inherent right to vote. However, by stipulating that those qualified to vote in elections for the largest chamber of a state's legislature could vote in Congressional (House of Representatives) elections
#978021