Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has launched a constitutional amendment effort to bar naturalized citizens from serving in Congress or in any federal post that requires Senate confirmation, arguing that those who write the nations laws and represent it abroad must owe undivided allegiance to the United States.
As reported by the New York Post, Maces joint resolution would prohibit foreign-born Americans who later obtained citizenship from serving in the House or Senate, becoming federal judges, or holding any Senate-confirmed position. The measure would effectively extend to Congress and senior executive-branch officials the constitutional requirement already applied to the presidency and vice presidency, a safeguard many Americans long assumed was already in place.
In unveiling the proposal, Mace directly named three high-profile progressive Democrats: Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, and Shri Thanedar of Illinois. All born in foreign countries, none were citizens by birth. All sitting in the United States Congress. All making clear every single day their loyalty is not to America, Mace said, underscoring concerns on the right that some lawmakers place globalist or ideological agendas above American interests.
Mace stressed that her amendment would simply align the eligibility rules for lawmakers and top officials with those already governing the nations chief executive. She noted that the proposal would impose the very same standard the President and Vice President are already required to meet on members of Congress and senior federal appointees, a move conservatives see as basic constitutional housekeeping rather than radical change.
The people writing Americas laws, confirming Americas judges, and representing America on the world stage should have one loyalty: America. Not any other country, she argued, echoing long-standing conservative concerns about divided loyalties and foreign influence in Washington. 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, Mace added. We see it every day.
Reaction on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has been broadly supportive among grassroots conservatives who have grown weary of lawmakers they view as hostile to traditional American values and national sovereignty. Many on the right argue that Maces proposal is not xenophobic but a prudent safeguard, and they insist that Nancy Mace is right about this and good for her for introducing it, urging every Republican in Congress to back the measure and force Democrats to defend the status quo.
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