U.S. Constitution

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back against former President Trump's suggestion that the Constitution should be terminated.

Politics & Government

McConnell criticizes Trump's calls to terminate the Constitution

6:45pm December 06, 2022

by Deepa Shivaram

The Senate minority leader said Tuesday that anyone seeking the presidency, which includes Trump, "would have a very hard time being sworn in" if the Constitution was suspended.

An image shows the first page of the first printing of the final text of the U.S. Constitution. The rare document will go up for auction in December, Sotheby's announced on Tuesday.

A rare copy of the first printing of the U.S. Constitution is going up for auction

1:40pm November 01, 2022

by Bill Chappell

The document last went up for auction in 1894. After the new auction was announced, the group that crowdfunded an attempt to buy a similar copy last year told NPR, "We're looking into it."

A large crowd of women cheers a speaker at the Lincoln Memorial, during a rally for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.

50 years ago sex equality seemed destined for the Constitution. What happened?

3:25pm March 22, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted to approve the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, paving the way for it to become the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It was roaring along...until it wasn't.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a 2021 photo, said a Missouri gun rights law impedes law enforcement in the state. The Department of Justice sued Wednesday to enjoin the law.

Department of Justice sues Missouri over gun rights law

5:21am February 17, 2022

by Peter Granitz

The federal government alleges Missouri's Second Amendment Preservation Act has endangered public safety by prohibiting local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies.

Federal lawmakers introduced an joint resolution that seeks "to prohibit the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime" under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Democrats Push 'Abolition Amendment' To Fully Erase Slavery From U.S. Constitution

6:43pm December 03, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

Congressional Democrats seek to remove the "punishment" clause from the 13th Amendment which allows members of prison populations to be used as cheap and free labor.

Politics & Government

Emoluments Lawsuit Moves A Step Closer to Trump

12:08pm September 15, 2018

by Peter Overby

If the president ever promoted his D.C. hotel to foreign dignitaries, the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia want to know about it.

The presidential limousine is parked in front of the Trump hotel as President Trump attends a dinner with supporters in April 2018 in Washington, DC. The hotel is a focal point of litigation that charges Trump's continued business interests violate the Co

Politics & Government

Federal Lawsuit Against President Trump's Business Interests Allowed To Proceed

3:49pm July 25, 2018

by Peter Overby

A federal judge has rejected a motion from the Department of Justice to dismiss the suit. The lawsuit alleges Trump's businesses, especially his hotel in D.C., violate the Constitution.

A September 2017 file photo of the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC. A federal judge says a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia regarding Trump's profits from the hotel.

Politics & Government

Emoluments Lawsuit Against President Trump Allowed To Proceed

4:22pm March 28, 2018

by Peter Overby

A federal judge ruled that Maryland and the District of Columbia can sue Trump. The states allege that he wrongly profits when foreign officials do business at the Trump hotel near the White House.

After he received a C on a paper when he was 19, Gregory Watson went on a mission to get a constitutional amendment ratified.

The Bad Grade That Changed The U.S. Constitution

12:28pm May 05, 2017

by Matt Largey

The 27th Amendment had languished for nearly 200 years before a Texas student made passing it a personal cause. The amendment was ratified 25 years ago this weekend.

Attorney Bob Hilliard — representing the family of Mexican teenager Sergio Adrian Hernandez, who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent — speaks in front of the Supreme Court after presenting his argument on Tuesday.

Conservative Justices Skeptical Of Extending Constitution Beyond U.S. Border

7:31pm February 21, 2017

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a "very sympathetic case" involving the shooting of an unarmed Mexican teen on the border. The justices will decide if the boy's family may sue the border agent.

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