A new proposal from MAGA Congresswoman Nancy Mace would likely be a major blow for her own party.
Mace has proposed a new Constitutional amendment to bar anyone who is not a “natural born” citizen of the United States, including naturalized citizens, from serving in Congress.
She points to Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Shri Thanedar, and Pramila Jayapal, who she says make it “clear every single day their loyalty is not to America,” as among the reasons for her proposal.
“We just introduced a long overdue joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to require Members of Congress, federal judges, and Senate-confirmed officers to be natural born citizens,” she announced on X, adding, “The people writing America’s laws, confirming America’s judges, and representing America on the world stage should have one loyalty: America. Not any other country.”
But it appears to have slipped Mace’s mind that several members of her own party were not born in the U.S.
These members include Sens. Ted Cruz, who was born in Canada, and Bernie Moreno, who was born in Colombia.
Under Mace’s proposal, someone like Cruz, for example, would not be barred from holding office, as he is, under current immigration laws, considered a “natural born citizen” because his mother is an American.
Someone like Moreno, however, would be barred from holding office as both of his parents were Colombian, so he is not considered “natural born.”
Her proposal also would impact her fellow House Republicans, including Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a native of Mexico; and California Rep. Young Kim, of South Korea; and Victoria Spartz of Ukraine, among other Republican lawmakers.
There are currently 19 House Democrats who were born outside the U.S., seven of whom are considered “natural born,” and seven House Republicans who were born outside the U.S., three of whom are considered “natural born.” Under Mace’s proposal, four House Republicans would not be able to hold office, and 12 House Democrats would be ineligible.
Those who wouldn’t be able to hold office under Mace’s plan include Democrats Salud Carbajal, Adriano Espaillat, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Robert Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ted Lieu, Ilhan Omar, Raul Ruiz, Shri Thanedar, Norma Torres, and Eugene Vindman. Republicans would include Juan Ciscomani, Carlos Gimenez, Young Kim, and Victoria Spartz.
Three Senate Democrats were born outside the U.S., two of whom have “natural born” status.
“For too long we have allowed foreign born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first,” she wrote. “We see it every day. This constitutional amendment will put an end to it.”
When reached for comment for further details, Mace’s office referred the Daily Beast to her various X posts.
Still, the amendment proposal has little to no chance of passing as it would require two-thirds support in both the House and Senate, and three-quarters of the states to ratify it.
Article I of the Constitution currently requires that House members be U.S. citizens for at least seven years before their election, and Senators must be U.S. citizens for at least nine years.
