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S. ll
118TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION

To reassert the constitutional authority of Congress to determine the general

applicability of the criminal laws of the United States, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

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Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. LUJÁN, Mr.
REED, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. CARPER, Mr. WELCH, Mr.
HICKENLOOPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. BALDWIN,
Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. MURRAY,
Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR,
Ms. BUTLER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
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A BILL
To reassert the constitutional authority of Congress to deter-
mine the general applicability of the criminal laws of
the United States, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Kings Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

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1 (1) no person, including any President, is above
2 the law;
3 (2) Congress, under the Necessary and Proper
4 Clause of section 8 of article I of the Constitution
5 of the United States, has the authority to determine
6 to which persons the criminal laws of the United
7 States shall apply, including any President;
8 (3) the Constitution of the United States does
9 not grant to any President any form of immunity
10 (whether absolute, presumptive, or otherwise) from
11 criminal prosecution, including for actions com-
12 mitted while serving as President;
13 (4) in The Federalist No. 69, Alexander Ham-
14 ilton wrote that there must be a difference between
15 the ‘‘sacred and inviolable’’ king of Great Britain
16 and the President of the United States, who ‘‘would
17 be amenable to personal punishment and disgrace’’
18 should his actions violate the laws of the United
19 States;
20 (5) the United States District Court for the
21 District of Columbia correctly concluded in United
22 States v. Trump, No. 23–257 (TSC), 2023 WL
23 8359833 (D.D.C. December 1, 2023) that ‘‘former
24 Presidents do not possess absolute federal criminal
25 immunity for any acts committed while in office’’,
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1 that former Presidents ‘‘may be subject to federal
2 investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction,
3 and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken
4 while in office’’, and that a ‘‘four-year service as
5 Commander in Chief [does] not bestow on [a Presi-
6 dent] the divine right of kings to evade the criminal
7 accountability that governs his fellow citizens’’;
8 (6) similarly, the United States Court of Ap-
9 peals for the District of Columbia Circuit correctly
10 affirmed in United States v. Trump, 91 F.4th 1173
11 (D.C. Cir. 2024) that ‘‘separation of powers doctrine
12 does not immunize former Presidents from federal
13 criminal liability’’ for their official actions that ‘‘al-
14 legedly violated generally applicable criminal laws’’
15 and acknowledged that the Founding Fathers
16 ‘‘stresse[d] that the President must be unlike the
17 ‘king of Great Britain,’ who was ‘sacred and invio-
18 lable.’ The Federalist No. 69, at 337–38’’;
19 (7) the Supreme Court of the United States,
20 however, vacated the judgment of the court of ap-
21 peals and incorrectly declared in Trump v. United
22 States, No. 23–939, 2024 WL 3237603 (U.S. July
23 1, 2024) that ‘‘the President is absolutely immune
24 from criminal prosecution for conduct within his ex-
25 clusive sphere of constitutional authority’’ and that
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1 a President ‘‘is entitled, at a minimum, to a pre-
2 sumptive immunity from prosecution for all his offi-
3 cial acts’’, assertions at odds with the plain text of
4 the Constitution of the United States; and
5 (8) Congress has explicit and broad authority to
6 make exceptions and regulations to the appellate ju-
7 risdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States
8 under article III, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitu-
9 tion of the United States.
10 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
11 (1) reassert the constitutional authority of Con-
12 gress to determine the general applicability of the
13 criminal laws of the United States, including to
14 Presidents and Vice Presidents;
15 (2) clarify that a President or Vice President is
16 not entitled to any form of immunity from criminal
17 prosecution for violations of the criminal laws of the
18 United States unless specified by Congress; and
19 (3) impose certain limitations on the appellate
20 jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United
21 States to decide questions related to criminal immu-
22 nity for Presidents and Vice Presidents.
23 SEC. 3. NO PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY FOR CRIMES.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) NO IMMUNITY.—A President, former Presi-
2 dent, Vice President, or former Vice President shall
3 not be entitled to any form of immunity (whether
4 absolute, presumptive, or otherwise) from criminal
5 prosecution for alleged violations of the criminal
6 laws of the United States unless specified by Con-
7 gress.
8 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—A court of the United
9 States may not consider whether an alleged violation
10 of the criminal laws of the United States committed
11 by a President or Vice President was within the con-
12 clusive or preclusive constitutional authority of a
13 President or Vice President or was related to the of-
14 ficial duties of a President or Vice President unless
15 directed by Congress.
16 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
17 tion shall be construed to immunize a President, former
18 President, Vice President, or former Vice President from
19 criminal prosecution for alleged violations of the criminal
20 laws of the States.
21 SEC. 4. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

22 (a) CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—Notwithstanding any

23 other provision of law, for any criminal proceeding com-
24 menced by the United States against a President, former
25 President, Vice President, or former Vice President for al-
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1 leged violations of the criminal laws of the United States,
2 the following rules shall apply:
3 (1) The action shall be filed in the applicable
4 district court of the United States or the United
5 States District Court for the District of Columbia.
6 (2) The Supreme Court of the United States
7 shall have no appellate jurisdiction, on the basis that
8 an alleged criminal act was within the conclusive or
9 preclusive constitutional authority of a President or
10 Vice President or on the basis that an alleged crimi-
11 nal act was related to the official duties of a Presi-
12 dent or Vice President, to (or direct another court
13 of the United States to)—
14 (A) dismiss an indictment or any other
15 charging instrument;
16 (B) grant acquittal or dismiss or otherwise
17 terminate a criminal proceeding;
18 (C) halt, suspend, disband, or otherwise
19 impede the functions of any grand jury;
20 (D) grant a motion to suppress or bar evi-
21 dence or testimony, or otherwise exclude infor-
22 mation from a criminal proceeding;
23 (E) grant a writ of habeas corpus, a writ
24 of coram nobis, a motion to set aside a verdict
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1 or judgment, or any other form of post-convic-
2 tion or collateral relief;
3 (F) overturn a conviction;
4 (G) declare a criminal proceeding unconsti-
5 tutional; or
6 (H) enjoin or restrain the enforcement or
7 application of a law.
8 (b) CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES.—Notwith-
9 standing any other provision of law, for any civil action
10 brought for declaratory, injunctive, or other relief to ad-
11 judge the constitutionality, whether facially or as-applied,
12 of any provision of this Act (including this section), or
13 to bar or restrain the enforcement or application of any
14 provision of this Act (including this section) on the ground
15 of its unconstitutionality, the following rules shall apply:
16 (1) A plaintiff may bring a civil action under
17 this subsection, and there shall be no other cause of
18 action available.
19 (2) Only a President, former President, Vice
20 President, or former Vice President shall have
21 standing to bring a civil action under this sub-
22 section.
23 (3) A facial challenge to the constitutionality of
24 any provision of this Act (including this section)
25 may only be brought not later than 180 days after
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1 the enactment of this Act. An as-applied challenge
2 to the constitutionality of the enforcement or appli-
3 cation of any provision of this Act (including this
4 section) may only be brought not later than 90 days
5 after the date of such enforcement or application.
6 (4) A court of the United States shall presume
7 that a provision of this Act (including this section)
8 or the enforcement or application of any such provi-
9 sion is constitutional unless it is demonstrated by
10 clear and convincing evidence that such provision or
11 its enforcement or application is unconstitutional.
12 (5) The civil action shall be filed in the United
13 States District Court for the District of Columbia,
14 which shall have exclusive jurisdiction of a civil ac-
15 tion under this subsection. An appeal may be taken
16 from the district court to the United States Court
17 of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,
18 which shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear an ap-
19 peal in a civil action under this subsection.
20 (6) In a civil action under this subsection, a de-
21 cision of the United States Court of Appeals for the
22 District of Columbia Circuit shall be final and not
23 appealable to the Supreme Court of the United
24 States.
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1 (7) The Supreme Court of the United States
2 shall have no appellate jurisdiction to declare any
3 provision of this Act (including this section) uncon-
4 stitutional or to bar or restrain the enforcement or
5 application of any provision of this Act (including
6 this section) on the ground of its unconstitutionality.
7 (c) CLARIFYING SCOPE OF JURISDICTION.—
8 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an action at the time of
9 its commencement is not subject to subsection (a) or
10 (b), but an amendment, counterclaim, cross-claim,
11 affirmative defense, or any other pleading or motion
12 is filed such that the action would be subject to sub-
13 section (a) or (b), the action shall thereafter be con-
14 ducted pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), as applica-
15 ble.
16 (2) STATE COURTS.—An action subject to sub-
17 section (a) or (b) may not be heard in any State
18 court.
19 (3) SUA SPONTE RELIEF.—No court may issue
20 relief sua sponte on the ground that a provision of
21 this Act (including this section), or its enforcement
22 or application, is unconstitutional.
23 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.

24 If any provision of this Act, or application of such

25 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un-
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1 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the applica-
2 tion of the provisions of this Act to any person or cir-
3 cumstance shall not be affected thereby.