Democrats Propose Ban on Twice Impeached Presidents’ Burial at Arlington Cemetery

A bill proposed by House Democrats seeks to further punish former president Donald Trump for perceived transgressions. The move angered Americans across the political spectrum as a waste of time, as it was stated that there are more pressing concerns - such as the pandemic.

The ‘No Glory for Hate Act’ is sponsored by Representative Linda Sanchez (D - California) and co-sponsored by 13 other Democrats. The bill calls for a ban on “twice-impeached president[s]” from being buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Even if such a president is cremated, the ashes could not be retained on Arlington grounds either.

The bill refers to the prohibition of the use of federal funds for the “commemoration of certain presidents”. Only former President Donald Trump fits the criterion spelled out in it - being twice impeached by the House of Representatives. Trump has, however, been twice acquitted in the Senate. Like Obama before him, Trump never served in the military and therefore does not fit another criterion for burial at Arlington to begin with.

The bill also demands that Trump’s name not appear on any Federal projects:

“[The Federal government will not] create or display any symbol, monument, or statue commemorating any former President that has been twice impeached by the House of Representatives on or before the date of enactment of this Act or has been convicted of a State or Federal crime relating to actions taken in an official capacity as President of the United States on Federal public land, including any highway, park, subway, Federal building, military installation, street, or other Federal property; or”

“name, designate, or redesignate a Federal building or Federal land after, or in commemoration of, any former President that has been twice impeached by the House of Representatives on or before the date of enactment of this Act or has been convicted of a State or Federal crime relating to actions taken in an official capacity as President of the United States.”

These provisions would effectively make displaying Trump’s name on any federal property illegal, alongside stripping him of retirement benefits, clerical services and mailing privileges. The only benefit still afforded to the former president, should this bill become law, would be the Secret Service protection afforded to all former presidents.

The bill is not the first attempt to penalise former president Trump after his second impeachment was not carried through successfully through the Senate. Democratic Representatives have made multiple moves to punish him for allegedly inciting an insurrection on January 6th, 2021. Democratic Representative for Mississippi Bennie Thompson has sued the former president for allegedly violating the Ku Klux Klan Act.

The Ku Klux Klan Act was introduced by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1871 in response to the Klan conducting insurrections all across the South to stop blacks and their allies from voting. The legislation states:

“Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. ”

The Democratic Representative for Maryland, Jamie Raskin, has proposed that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution could be used to prevent Trump from running for office again. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prevents any public official who swore an oath to protect the Constitution from holding office if they “engage in insurrection or rebellion”. On how such a restriction could be implemented, Raskin said the following:

"So we'd have to figure it out and do some more research about all of that, but the point is that the constitutional purpose is clear, to keep people exactly like Donald Trump and other traitors to the union from holding public office,"