US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer introduced on Thursday the No Kings Act, establishing that US presidents and vice presidents do not enjoy immunity for violating federal criminal law.

The bill relies on several provisions of the US Constitution, including the Necessary and Proper Clause under Article 1, Section 8 which gives Congress the authority to decide to whom US criminal laws apply. The US Constitution does not explicitly grant the president immunity from criminal laws during their presidency.

The bill considered that the framers of the US Constitution intended to balance executive, legislative and judicial powers within the government and that “there must be a difference between the ‘sacred and inviolable’ king of Great Britain and the [US president], who ‘would be amenable to personal punishment and disgrace’ should his actions violate the law of the [US].”

The bill also stated that former Presidents, such as Donald Trump, do not have immunity for acts that they commit while holding office. The bill clarified that the Supreme Court should have limited jurisdiction to decide questions of immunity and that Congress should explicitly direct a court to resolve these questions instead. Schumer said:

Given the dangerous and consequential implications of the [c]ourt’s ruling, legislation would be the fastest and most efficient method to correcting the grave precedent the Trump ruling presented.

The Act was introduced following the 2024 US Supreme Court case, Donald Trump v. United States, where former President Trump was granted immunity during and after his presidential terms for all crimes that were committed as “official acts” while in office. 

34 Senate democrats supported the bill as of Thursday.