Constitution
The Committee on the Judiciary plays an important role in protecting people's constitutional rights and-when the Constitution falls short of its promise "to form a more perfect Union"-in amending the Constitution. In the 116th Congress, the Committee passed a resolution to revoke the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and held hearings on state efforts to curb people's constitutional right to an abortion, the lasting negative impact of Citizens United on our campaign finance system, the constitutional role of the pardon power, and opportunities to reform presidential clemency. The Committee also filed several lawsuits to uphold its constitutional authority to conduct oversight of the executive branch. In the 117th Congress, the Committee will continue to build on these accomplishments and further the Constitution's promise of a more perfect Union.
More on Constitution
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) joined Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Democratic members of Congress to introduce bills in the U.S. House and Senate that would require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest any potential financial conflicts of interest.
Background: House Judiciary Committee Democrats today released a letter led by former constitutional law professor and newly elected Congressman Jamie Raskin and signed by more than 35 law professors and scholars from across the country, which expresses constitutional concerns over Republican leadership's proposal to allow administrative officers to impose fines on Members of Congress for using an electronic device to photograph or record House floor proceedings.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, issued the following statement today regarding President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security:
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, issued the following statement today regarding President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security:
I want to thank the Members and panelists for participating in today's forum on the Electoral College. We are holding this panel because recent elections and public sentiment have made it clear that there are serious problems with the present system for electing our President and Vice President.
We begin with the fact that Hillary Clinton received more than 2.5 million more popular votes than Donald Trump -- the largest divergence between the popular and electoral votes in our Nation's history. This constitutes the very definition of anti-democratic.
After President-elect Donald Trump's vague announcement this morning to leave his "…great business in total...," all sixteen Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee wrote today to Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to request that the Committee hold hearings to examine the federal conflicts-of-interest and ethics provisions that may apply to the President of the United States.