Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., plans to introduce a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that would require all members of Congress, federal judges, and Senate-confirmed appointees to be natural-born U.S. citizens, a sweeping change that would disqualify more than a dozen sitting lawmakers and reshape eligibility for much of the federal government.
The proposal, which Mace planned to introduce Wednesday, takes direct aim at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., but its reach extends far beyond a single member of the Squad. It would also bar several Republican members of Congress, former Cabinet officials from both parties, and potentially thousands of future candidates drawn from the country's nearly 25 million naturalized citizens.
As Fox News Digital reported, Mace framed the amendment as a matter of loyalty and national interest. In a statement to the outlet, she singled out Omar by name while making a broader case for expanding the natural-born-citizen requirement that already applies to the presidency and vice presidency.
"If you hold power in the American government, you should be a natural-born American citizen. For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government, while making clear their loyalty is not here. We see it every day."
The timing is no accident. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that Omar is under investigation by the Department of Justice for possible immigration fraud. Some Republicans have called for Omar's deportation over the alleged offense. A spokesperson for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Omar, born in Somalia, became a naturalized citizen in 2000. She has been a lightning rod for Republican criticism since entering Congress, and the fraud allegations have only intensified the pressure. The Feeding Our Future fraud case has kept her name in headlines, with a self-described "mastermind" of the $250 million scheme claiming Omar knew about it.
Mace did not mince words about her motivations. She told Fox News Digital:
"Ilhan Omar is just one of many foreign-born members of this government who have made clear, time and again, their loyalty is not here. The American people deserve leaders who put America first. This amendment closes a gap in our Constitution long overdue for closing."
But the amendment's language does not single out any one lawmaker. It would apply to every naturalized citizen who holds or seeks federal power, and that includes a number of Mace's own Republican colleagues.
There are currently 19 foreign-born members of Congress, though some qualify as natural-born citizens because at least one parent held U.S. citizenship at the time of their birth. Among the naturalized citizens who would be affected, several are Republicans.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, an ally of President Donald Trump, was born in Colombia and became a U.S. citizen at 18. Under Mace's proposal, he could no longer serve in the Senate. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., immigrated from Mexico. Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., came from South Korea. Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., arrived from Ukraine. All became naturalized citizens. All would be barred from Congress if the amendment took effect.
On the Democratic side, the list includes Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Rep. Ted Lieu of California, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
The proposal also reaches beyond Capitol Hill. Former Trump Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would have been ineligible for her Cabinet post. So would Alejandro Mayorkas, former President Joe Biden's Department of Homeland Security secretary. Both are naturalized citizens who served in Senate-confirmed roles.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Democrats have blocked efforts to subpoena Omar over Feeding Our Future fraud records, a move that has frustrated state-level Republicans seeking accountability.
Mace's proposal faces enormous procedural hurdles. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate before it can be sent to the states for ratification. Three-fourths of state legislatures must then approve it. Alternatively, two-thirds of state legislatures could call a constitutional convention to propose the amendment, a method that has never been used successfully in American history.
Those odds make the proposal far more likely to function as a political statement than as a realistic legislative vehicle. But political statements have consequences, and this one forces a conversation about who should be eligible to wield federal authority, and whether the Founders' distinction between natural-born and naturalized citizens should extend beyond the Oval Office.
The existing constitutional framework is clear on one point: only natural-born citizens may serve as president or vice president. The Framers drew that line deliberately. Mace's argument is that the same logic should apply to lawmakers who vote on war and peace, judges who interpret the Constitution, and Cabinet secretaries who run federal agencies.
Omar's situation has given that argument fresh political energy. The DOJ investigation that Vance disclosed Tuesday, for possible immigration fraud, has placed her legal status and naturalization history under a spotlight that did not exist when she first took office. Her name surfaced six times in Feeding Our Future fraud trial exhibits, adding another layer of controversy to a career already defined by partisan conflict.
Mace's framing hinges on loyalty, the idea that some foreign-born members of Congress have demonstrated, through their conduct and public statements, that their allegiance lies elsewhere. That is a serious charge, and it is one that resonates with voters who watched Omar's career-long pattern of inflammatory remarks about American foreign policy and institutions.
But the amendment does not distinguish between lawmakers who provoke those concerns and those who do not. It treats all naturalized citizens the same, regardless of their record of service, their political views, or their demonstrated commitment to the country. That is what makes it constitutionally tidy, and politically messy.
Moreno, for instance, came to the United States from Colombia as a child and built a career in business before winning his Senate seat with Trump's backing. Ciscomani represents a border district in Arizona and has been a reliable Republican vote. Spartz, who fled Ukraine, has been one of the more outspoken fiscal hawks in the House. None of them have faced the kind of loyalty questions that Omar has. All of them would be swept up in the same constitutional net.
That tension, between a principle broad enough to survive legal challenge and a political target narrow enough to justify the effort, is the central problem with the proposal. It is aimed at Omar but written to cover everyone.
Mace, who is also running for governor of South Carolina, clearly sees political value in the fight. Whether or not the amendment advances, the introduction alone forces every member of Congress to take a position on a question that most would rather avoid: should naturalized citizens be eligible for federal office?
Efforts to hold Omar accountable have run into resistance at multiple levels. A Minnesota fraud committee subpoena effort fell one vote short, and the congresswoman has largely avoided direct engagement with the allegations.
There is a legitimate conservative case for examining whether the natural-born-citizen requirement should extend beyond the presidency. The Founders had reasons for the restriction they wrote into Article II. Those reasons, concerns about divided loyalty, foreign influence, and the unique obligations of sovereign authority, do not evaporate at the door of the Capitol or the federal bench.
But there is also a conservative case for caution. The amendment would retroactively disqualify sitting members of Congress who won their seats through lawful elections. It would bar future candidates who followed every rule, took the oath, and earned their citizenship the hard way. And it would hand future Congresses a tool that could be weaponized against political opponents on the basis of birth, not conduct.
The better path to accountability for Omar, and for anyone else who abuses the public trust, runs through the legal system, not the Constitution. If the DOJ investigation produces evidence of immigration fraud, the consequences should follow from that evidence. Republican leaders have already made the case publicly that Omar should face scrutiny for her record. That case is stronger when it is built on facts, not on a constitutional amendment that punishes loyal naturalized citizens for the misconduct of one.
Mace is right that the American people deserve leaders whose loyalty is beyond question. The way to prove that loyalty is through conduct in office, not through a birth certificate.
