Kaptur introduces bill to ensure Congress uphold the Constitution and prevent President-elect’s conflicts of interest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 11, 2017
Contact: Josh Stewart, (202) 225-4146 or Joshua.Stewart@mail.house.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) introduced legislation to empower Congress to explicitly deny President-elect Trump consent of acceptance of any and all payments or gifts. The bill, entitled the No Congressional Consent for President Donald J. Trump to Accept Foreign Emoluments of Any Kind Whatsoever Act ensures compliance with the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.  The bill as introduced has more than 30 original cosponsors.

Statement from Kaptur:

“My bill ensures that Congress upholds the Constitution and protects the Presidency and our government from corruption. Our Founding Fathers identified principles important to the bedrock of our democracy; they included an anticorruption measure known as the Emolument Clause. Its inclusion emphasized their desire to preserve independence from external influence. There is no question this principle should apply to the incoming President, as it has to every other President of our nation.

“President-elect Trump has achieved great wealth and his investments span across the United States and dozens of foreign countries. The possibility of hidden influences will eclipse every action and decision Mr. Trump makes.  There is no way to be sure of the full depth of Mr. Trump’s conflicts particularly with his continued refusal to release his tax returns, a key component of accountability provided by every President and presidential candidate since Richard Nixon.

“The highest ranking employee in the Federal government is not exempt from the Constitution. Congress owes it to the American people to ensure that Constitutional principles are upheld in the interests of liberty. I call on Speaker Paul Ryan to bring our bill to the House Floor for a vote.”

Read Kaptur’s full remarks on the matter in an op-ed, published today in The Hill. The op-ed was coauthored by former Indiana Rep. Jill Long Thompson, now an ethics professor at Indiana University.  

What is the Emolument’s clause and how does it apply to Trump? For more, read a report from the Brookings Institution authored by former Republican and Democratic ethics advisors. 

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