- Republicans are plotting to rewrite the Constitution and limit the power of the federal government.
- Former Senator Russ Feingold and academic Peter Prindiville write in a new book that this could lead to dramatic changes in government.
- According to the NYT, “There is great danger and perhaps great power in this uncertainty,” they wrote.
For years, Republicans have campaigned behind the scenes to change the Constitution through a gathering of 34 state legislatures known as the Constitutional Convention.
The Constituent Assembly, designated in Article 5 of the Constitution, was to allow state legislatures to pass or ratify constitutional amendments without the governor’s signature, legislative intervention, or input from the president.
Some Republicans are seeking to use a treaty never achieved in U.S. history to limit federal spending and taxing powers and enact term limits for more federal employees. increase.
Former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold and constitutional scholar Peter Prindiville, in their new book, A Constitution in Danger, argue that a “runaway” convention fell off the script and that the federal government was on health care. It writes that it could bring about a major change in the way laws are regulated. education, and the environment.
Prindiville told The Times that the rules of the Constituent Assembly have never been detailed by its originators, so without clear guidance as to how it would work, the treaty would be a “separate and independent constitutional body.” He said it would be operated as
According to The Times, Feingold and Prindyville wrote in their book, “Treaty supporters argue for legal certainty, but how conferences held under Article 5 can convene. and the most important question of how it works remains unresolved.”
“Framer leaves no rules behind. There is great danger, and perhaps great power, in this uncertainty.”
Insider’s Grace Panetta and Brent D. Griffiths previously held constitutional conventions to uproot environmental regulations and education standards while making it harder for areas like Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico to become states. reported on the Republican plan to
Rob Natelson, a leading Article 5 scholar in the movement calling for conventions, previously dismissed the possibility of a “runaway” convention to insiders.
State conventions with ties to Republican luminaries like former Trump attorney John Eastman are calling for narrow constitutional amendments that limit the federal government’s “power and jurisdiction.”
David Super, a professor and constitutional expert at the Georgetown University Law Center, told Insider that limiting the powers of the federal government could actually lead to radical and far-reaching changes. .
Super told Panetta and Griffith, “You cannot name a constitutional amendment you might want that I could not characterize as one of the three articles of the Convention of Nations.” Equality in the Fourteenth Amendment Do you want to abolish the protection clause?It limits the federal government’s ability to interfere with state law.Most things you want can be characterized as one of those things.”
According to insider analysis, 19 states have passed legislative resolutions so far, and five are moving toward resolutions. Her three states of South Dakota, Iowa and North Carolina have Republican-led state legislatures.
Supporters of the Constitutional Convention include Eastman, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Fox News personalities such as Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.
Natelson previously told Insider that he projects a 50% chance that the country will form a nation within the next five years.
