On Friday, President Joe Biden unilaterally decreed that a new (28th) Constitutional amendment is now “the law of the land” – even though it has not satisfied the legal requirements for it to be so.
In an official White House statement – issued three days before he leaves office – Biden declared that the Equal Rights Amendment, which failed to meet its ratification deadline according to its own stipulations, has become the 28th Amendment:
“Today I'm affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
But, that’s not how it works.
Last month, in anticipation of Biden’s move, the National Archivist issued a statement explaining that the deadline for the ERA’s ratification had expired and, thus, it “cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions”:
“As Archivist and Deputy Archivist of the United States, it is our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the constitutional amendment process and ensure that changes to the Constitution are carried out in accordance with the law.
“At this time, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions.
“In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable.”
“On Friday, the National Archives reiterated the position by saying ‘the underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed,’” the Associated Press reported following Biden’s edict, adding that the outgoing president is not going to force the National Archives to enforce his decree:
“A senior Biden administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the White House’s plans, said Biden was not directing the archivist to certify the amendment, sidestepping what could have become a legal battle over the separation of powers.”
CNN also contacted the National Archives and received the same response:
“CNN reached out to the National Archives for guidance on what the archivist plans to do, and was directed to Shogan and Bosanko’s prior statement, calling it a ‘long standing position for the Archivist and the National Archives.’
“‘The underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed,’ National Archives Public and Media Communications staff said Friday.”
Nonetheless, Biden doubled down on his decree in a social media post Friday:
“Today I'm affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified:
“The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
The post prompted widespread mockery and derision on social media, with many replies noting the hypocrisy of the move by Pres. Biden, who insists that incoming President Donald Trump is a “threat to Democracy” who would become a dictator if elected to a second term in the White House.
Biden’s unenforceable decree appears to be yet another effort to cause problems for President-Elect Trump before leaving office by setting up Democrats to drag his edict through the court system, as NPR notes:
“His move comes after a campaign from Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who has said it would be a way to protect abortion rights. Gillibrand has said she expects that the matter will end up in the Supreme Court.”
The Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress in 1972 with a seven-year time limit for the required 38 states to ratify it. When it failed to reach that number by 1979, Congress voted to extend the deadline an additional three years.
It still failed to be ratified by 38 states by 1982, when Carter’s extension ended.
In 2020 – 38 years after the extension expired – Virginia became the 38th state to “ratify” the ERA, in a symbolic vote.
Virginia’s move was meaningless vote to ratify a nonexistent amendment, since the Equal Rights Amendment ceased to exist after 1982.