The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell – 6/30/26

No: Congress cannot violate the Constitution. The entire point of a Constitution is that ALL elements of the gov’t are UNDER the Constitution, and all that is Constitutional and legal must be contained within the limitations established by the Constitution.

That was settled during the writing of the last of the 13 states to adopt a constitution: Massachusetts-Bay. That was a reason the first effort — written by the state legislature — was rejected, and the Constitutional Convention invented to ensure that the legislature is ALSO constrained within constitutional limits.

John Adams wrote that constitution establishing three co-equal branches, one being the legislature, separation of powers, and checks and balances. It put the legislature ALSO under the constitution.

That constitution was the basis for the US Constitution. The US Congress is constrained within the Constitution’s limits, which limits are also in the 14th Amendment. Congress cannot amend or repeal the Constitution or its Amendments, neither by statute nor otherwise.