A bill introduced to the House of Representatives seeks to ban visits by former President Donald Trump and several major figures from his administration. The bill raises several major constitutional concerns and is very unlikely to progress.
Several Democrats are seeking to have the former president and some Republicans banned from Capitol Hill, including one of the loudest opponents of the former president.
The resolution called for a ban on the 45th president and several major figures from his administration, including strategists Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R).
The bill would empower the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, and the United States Capitol Police to “take such actions as may be necessary to prohibit” the former Trump Administration figures “from entering the United States Capitol.”
The bill was introduced by Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) and was cosponsored by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). Swalwell was a high-profile opponent of President Trump during his term.
Rep. Williams offered a similar resolution in early 2021.
The Democrats’ latest push raised concern among conservatives about both constitutionality and precedent.
The proposal is effectively dead from the outset. With a Republican-held House of Representatives, there is no effective means for it to go through both houses of Congress.
However, this did not stop former President Trump from commenting. In a written statement, he said that this was an example of an effort to stop “some Great American Patriots, including me, to be banned from the Capitol.” The former president called Swalwell a “low life” that is “not respected by anybody.”
JUST NOW Trump releases a statement in response to Eric Swalwell's resolution which would ban Trump and his allies from entering the U.S. Capitol: @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/pSksHIqTjS
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) February 22, 2023
The former president also addressed allegations that Rep. Swalwell was intimately involved with a Chinese spy, Fang Fang. Fang, also known as Christine Fang, was involved in an intelligence operation run by the Chinese government between 2011 and 2015 and was involved romantically with several politicians. She gained special access to Swalwell during his time as city councilmember of Dublin City, California.
