Protecting Our Democracy Act
This legislation places new limits on executive power, blocks presidents from pardoning themselves, and requires major-party presidential candidates and sitting presidents to publicly release ten years of tax returns. It requires political campaigns to report any election-related contacts with foreign governments to the FBI and bans foreign entities from sharing opposition research or polling under campaign finance laws. Additionally, the bill prohibits political activity or party conventions on federal property, protects career civil servants from being fired without cause, and creates stronger legal protections for federal whistleblowers.
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Introduced in Senate
The provisions, in plain language.
Declares any presidential self-pardon null and void, ensuring it does not grant them legal immunity or block court jurisdiction.
Pauses the statute of limitations for any federal criminal offense committed by the President or Vice President during or before their time in office.
Explicitly bans federal officials, including the President, from accepting foreign emoluments without congressional consent, bans the President from accepting domestic emoluments, and authorizes the House or Senate to sue violators in federal court.
Expressly authorizes the House, Senate, or their committees to sue in federal court to enforce congressional subpoenas, sets expedited timelines for these cases, and allows courts to fine federal agency heads personally for non-compliance.
Requires the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel to publish its final legal opinions on a searchable public website, setting timetables for disclosing current and historic opinions and limiting what can be withheld.
Automatically terminates any presidentially declared national emergency after 20 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution approving it, and requires the immediate return of any reprogrammed funds upon termination.
Requires the Attorney General to maintain a log of communications between the DOJ and the White House regarding active civil or criminal investigations, which the DOJ Inspector General must review quarterly and report to Congress if political interference is suspected.
Requires major-party presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as sitting Presidents and Vice Presidents, to submit their federal income tax returns for the prior 10 years to the Federal Election Commission for redacted public release.
Requires political campaigns and candidates to report any contacts with foreign governments or their agents involving election help or donations to the FBI and the Federal Election Commission within 1 week.
Limits the reclassification of competitive service employees to the excepted service (protecting civil servants from retaliatory mass firings) to no more than 1% of an agency's workforce or five employees per presidential term.
Requires the Attorney General to submit all prosecutorial and investigative materials to Congress within 30 days of the President pardoning the President, a relative, an appointee, a campaign employee, or an individual whose offense was motivated by their interests.
Amends federal bribery laws to clarify that the President, Vice President, and candidates-elect are covered, and that pardons or reprieves count as "things of value" in bribes.
Requires pardoned individuals who gave gifts to the President within a year before the pardon (or five years after) to file public financial disclosure reports with the Office of Government Ethics.
Prohibits the President, Vice President, and Cabinet members from holding or entering into contracts with the federal government.
Strips former Presidents of their taxpayer-funded pensions and office allowances (except for Secret Service protection) if they are convicted of a felony committed during or after their presidency.
Requires federal officials (including the President and their family members) to disclose foreign and domestic emoluments and related business interests on their annual financial disclosures.
Empowers the Office of Government Ethics to issue administrative fines, order corrective actions such as giving up illicit profits, and bring civil actions to enforce those penalties.
Prohibits registered lobbyists and foreign agents from contributing to legal expense funds established for the President, Vice President, or political appointees.
Prohibits presidential inaugural committees from accepting donations from corporations, non-individual entities, or foreign nationals, limits individual donations to $50,000, and bans personal use of inaugural funds.
Requires federal courts to review and approve any Department of Justice motion to dismiss a criminal prosecution against a sitting President or President-elect, requiring a sworn statement from the Attorney General regarding any presidential involvement in the decision.
Requires recipients of congressional subpoenas who withhold information to immediately provide detailed logs detailing the exact legal grounds for withholding each item.
Restricts the executive branch from withholding or deferring congressionally appropriated funds within 90 days of their expiration.
Empowers the Comptroller General (GAO) to sue the executive branch to compel the release of withheld budget funds or the production of requested information.
Requires the President's annual budget proposal to include detailed reports on unspent expired funds, cancelled funds, obligations incurred during government shutdowns, and non-appropriation transfer authorities.
Requires federal agencies to provide information to the Comptroller General within 20 days regarding appropriations law decisions, and authorizes the Comptroller General to sue non-compliant agencies.
Mandates that the Attorney General criminally investigate federal employees who knowingly and willfully violate federal spending laws and report annually to Congress on these investigations.
Clarifies that the Freedom of Information Act's disclosure exception for Congress applies to requests from any individual Member of Congress.
Strips the President of authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs or import quotas during a national emergency.
Requires the President to submit all existing and future Presidential Emergency Action Documents to congressional oversight committees.
Expands federal whistleblower protections to cover scientific censorship, bans the unauthorized disclosure of a whistleblower's identity, and includes interns, fellows, and noncareer political appointees.
Entitles federal whistleblowers to bring their retaliation claims to a federal jury trial if the Merit Systems Protection Board fails to issue a final decision within 180 days.
Explicitly secures the right of all federal employees, including members of the military, to communicate directly with or provide information to Congress without retaliation.
Establishes a private right of action permitting Intelligence Community whistleblowers to sue federal employees or contractors in court for damages if their identity is willfully and unlawfully disclosed.
Shortens the period an acting head of a federal agency can serve from 210 to 120 days, and requires acting officials to testify before congressional oversight committees at least once every 60 days.
Tightens eligibility to serve as an acting official under the Vacancies Act, requiring first assistants to have held their position for at least 30 days before the vacancy, and other designated employees to have worked at the agency for at least one year.
Makes it a federal crime (punishable by fines and up to a year in prison) to knowingly violate Hatch Act restrictions on engaging in political activities while using official authority.
Subjects the President and Vice President to Hatch Act political activity restrictions while they are on White House grounds used for official duties.
Authorizes the Office of Special Counsel to seek civil penalties of up to $50,000 against political appointees who violate the Hatch Act, and requires the President to notify Congress in writing of any disciplinary action taken against such appointees.
Requires all executive branch political appointees to sign a binding ethics pledge that bans them from accepting lobbyist gifts, bars them for two years from working on matters affecting former employers or clients, and restricts them from lobbying their former agency for two years after leaving office.
Establishes a new, independent Inspector General for the Executive Office of the President to audit and investigate waste, fraud, and abuse within White House offices.
Expands the federal ban on foreign campaign contributions to explicitly define opposition research, polling, or non-public candidate information as corporate/foreign "things of value" that cannot be solicited, accepted, or received.
Bans foreign nationals from donating to or spending money on state and local ballot initiatives or referendums.
Requires large online platforms to maintain searchable public archives of political advertisements, including a copy of the ad, audience metrics, and purchaser details, for ads from buyers who spend more than $500.
Requires paid digital and internet political advertisements to display clear and conspicuous on-screen disclaimers identifying who paid for the advertisement, matching current rules for television and radio.
Prohibits political parties from holding national nominating conventions on federal property, including the White House and its grounds, subject to fines or imprisonment.
Requires the President to maintain and update every 90 days a publicly searchable online database of all visitors to the White House, the Vice President's residence, and other official business locations.
Disqualifies any individual convicted of certain corporate crimes (such as embezzlement, insider trading, wage theft, or tax evasion) committed while serving as a CEO from being appointed to any executive branch position in the federal government.
Expands federal conflict-of-interest rules to require executive branch employees to recuse themselves from official matters that affect their previous employer, client, or direct corporate competitor if they worked for them within the preceding four years.
Expands the federal bribery statute's definition of an "official act" to explicitly include granting or offering pardons, commutations, or reprieves.
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- Federal whistleblowersGains expanded protections against retaliation, including coverage for scientific censorship, the right to a jury trial if administrative reviews take too long, and a secured right to communicate directly with Congress (Sec. 2421, Sec. 2422, Sec. 2424).
- Intelligence Community whistleblowersGains a new private right of action to sue federal employees or contractors in court for damages if their identity is willfully and unlawfully disclosed (Sec. 2443(c)).
- Federal civil servantsGains protection from retaliatory mass firings by limiting the reclassification of competitive service employees to the excepted service to no more than 1% of an agency's workforce or five employees per presidential term (Sec. 3402).
- The publicGains free, searchable access to final Office of Legal Counsel legal opinions (Sec. 2254(c)) and White House visitor logs (Sec. 3502(b)).
- Comptroller General (GAO)Gains explicit legal authority to sue the executive branch in federal court to compel the release of withheld budget funds or the production of requested information (Sec. 2224, Sec. 2251(a)).
- House of Representatives and SenateGains explicit authority to bring civil actions in federal court to enforce congressional subpoenas (Sec. 2102(a)) and to sue federal officials who accept foreign emoluments without consent (Sec. 1304(a)).
Who it burdens
- President and Vice PresidentTakes on new restrictions and duties, including a pause on the statute of limitations for federal crimes (Sec. 1202(a)), a ban on federal contracts (Sec. 1203(a)), Hatch Act restrictions on White House grounds (Sec. 2625(a)), mandatory public disclosure of 10 years of tax returns (Sec. 2701(b)), and the invalidation of self-pardons (Sec. 1104).
- Former PresidentsLoses taxpayer-funded pensions and office allowances if convicted of a felony committed during or after their presidency (Sec. 1204).
- Federal agency headsTakes on personal financial liability, allowing courts to fine them personally for failing to comply with congressional subpoenas (Sec. 2102(a)).
- Political campaigns and candidatesTakes on new reporting duties, requiring them to report contacts with foreign governments or agents to the FBI and FEC within one week (Sec. 3101(a)), and requiring major-party candidates to disclose 10 years of tax returns (Sec. 2701(b)).
- Executive branch political appointeesTakes on new restrictions, including a mandatory ethics pledge banning lobbyist gifts, a two-year ban on working on matters affecting former employers, and potential civil penalties of up to $50,000 for Hatch Act violations (Sec. 2642, Sec. 2621(a)).
- Large online platformsTakes on a new administrative cost and duty to maintain searchable public archives of political advertisements from buyers spending over $500 (Sec. 3305(a)).
- Foreign nationalsProhibited from donating to state and local ballot initiatives or referendums (Sec. 3203(a)) and from donating to presidential inaugural committees (Sec. 1309(a)).
- Former corporate CEOs convicted of corporate crimesDisqualified from being appointed to any executive branch position in the federal government if convicted of crimes like embezzlement, insider trading, wage theft, or tax evasion committed while serving as a CEO (Sec. 3602(a)).