Rep. Nancy Mace’s push to restrict who can serve in the federal government has ignited a fierce debate over citizenship, loyalty, and whether birthplace should determine eligibility for public office. Furthermore, the Republican South Carolina congresswoman appears to have targeted another member of Congress, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, in her most recent tirade. Mace’s post has since gone viral and even sparked some backlash.
The South Carolina Republican posted on August 8 on X, pushing for the joint resolution she introduced back in May 20 proposing a constitutional amendment that would require members of Congress, federal judges, and Senate-confirmed federal officers to be natural-born U.S. citizens. The proposal would expand the Constitution’s existing natural-born-citizenship requirement for president and vice president to lawmakers, federal judges, ambassadors, and other Senate-confirmed officials.
Mace also used Omar’s face as the image on her post, as the latter was notably born in Somalia before migrating to the US. “If you hold power in the American government, you should be a natural born American citizen,” Mace said in announcing the resolution, arguing that government officials should have their loyalty firmly with the United States.
For the amendment to take effect, it would need approval by two-thirds of both the House and Senate before being ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures. The proposal immediately triggered competing reactions online from two extremes of the political spectrum.
Did Mace forget about her fellow Republicans?
On one hand, Mace’s supporters argued that national security concerns justify the change. One user wrote, “This should have happened a long time ago!” Another account argued that foreign-born officials could represent a security vulnerability and said the same principle should apply to Congress and federal judges.
Others, however, questioned the consistency of the argument. “Ban foreign owned members of Congress. FIFY,” according to a commenter. Another X user pointed out a potential complication by writing, “He was born in Canada…” referring to Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who was born in Calgary and is eligible to serve in the Senate because the Constitution does not currently require senators to be natural-born citizens.
More commenters were also quick to point out how many of Mace’s other Republican allies are foreign-born, such as Juan Ciscomani, Carlos Gimenez, Young Kim, Victoria Spartz, Bernie Moreno, and Daniel Crenshaw. For now, Mace’s amendment faces a steep path through Congress and the states, and the argument over natural-born citizenship is likely to continue.
