During the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump (House Resolution 24), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a constitutional point of order that the “proceeding, which would try a private citizen and not a president, a vice president or civil officer, violates the Constitution.”

The Senate tabled (killed) Paul’s point of order on January 26, 2021 by a vote of 55 to 45 (Roll Call 8). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Paul’s point is constitutionally unassailable. The Constitution states, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Yet as of January 20, when Joe Biden was sworn in as president, Trump was a private citizen to whom the impeachment power does not apply.

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2021 (S. Con. Res. 5), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a substitute amendment, which he called the “Three Penny Plan Budget.” According to a press release from his senate office, “Dr. Paul’s plan requires that for every on-budget dollar the federal government spends in Fiscal Year 2021, it spends three pennies fewer each year for the next five years.” This would have reduced spending by $67.4 billion in fiscal 2022 alone, and by a total of $7.2 trillion over 10 years.

The Senate rejected Paul’s substitute amendment on February 4, 2021 by a vote of 29 to 71 (Roll Call 31). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because runaway, deficit-laden federal spending, most of which is unconstitutional, must be brought under control, and Paul’s proposal would have been a step in the right direction.

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2021 (S. Con. Res. 5), Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) offered an amendment to create a deficit-neutral fund, consistent with the Senate’s pay-as-you-go rule in order to be included in a reconciliation bill. This fund would allow for legislation enforcing the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires illegal migrants attempting to gain asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are determined.

The Senate rejected Rubio’s amendment on February 5, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 50 (Roll Call 51). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because uncontrolled migration is detrimental to preserving our constitutional republic. Furthermore, considering that in fiscal 2020, 71.6 percent of asylum claims were ultimately rejected, it is wise public policy to prohibit asylum seekers from entering the United States.

The House adopted the article of impeachment (“Incitement of Insurrection”) against President Donald Trump on January 13, 2021. The article, contained in House Resolution 24, was then sent to the Senate to decide whether or not to convict Trump and remove him from office. The article alleges that Trump engaged in “high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” He did so, the article claims, by repeatedly issuing “false statements asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by State or Federal officials”; by reiterating the claim that “we won the election” at his January 6, 2021, Washington, D.C., rally; and by saying in his January 6 speech, “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

The Senate acquitted Trump on February 13, 2021 by a vote of 57 to 43 (Roll Call 59; a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required to convict). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Senate may not constitutionally convict a private citizen, which is what Trump was at the time of this vote, and also because he had not committed any crime — much less “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” (the constitutional standard for impeachment) — by exercising his right to free speech regarding the election results and political activism. Also, to interpret his “fight like hell” remark as a call to violence is ludicrous. In the same speech, Trump stated, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, would follow the precedent set in 2020 of spending multiple trillions of dollars within one year on unconstitutional programs in the name of coronavirus relief. As summarized by a Treasury Department fact sheet posted after the House and Senate had approved the $1.9 trillion spending bill, 90 million Americans would receive more than $242 billion in direct payments ($1,400 for individuals, $2,800 for married couples, and $1,400 for each dependent); families would receive $3,600 for children under age six, and $3,000 for other children under age 18; state and local governments would receive $325 billion in emergency direct payments; states, territories, and tribes would receive $10 billion for capital projects; etc.

The Senate passed H.R. 1319 on March 6, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 110). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that yielded annual federal deficits of $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 and an expected $3.0 trillion in 2021. Moreover, virtually all of the coronavirus aid provisions, including direct checks, federal unemployment benefits, and subsidization of the economy, are unconstitutional.

H.R. 1799 would extend the authorization for the Treasury Department’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) from March 31 to June 30, 2021. The PPP provides Small Business Administration-backed loans to businesses of 500 employees or less struggling as a result of the draconian COVID-19 lockdowns issued by governors across the country beginning in 2020 and extending into 2021. PPP loans do not have to be paid back so long as employers only use the funds for legitimate business expenses, such as PPP-approved payroll costs, mortgages, rent, operation expenditures, personal protective equipment as may have been required by state-issued emergency orders, property damage as a result of violent mob protests that occurred in 2020 and not covered by the business’s insurance, and suppliers’ costs for contracts or other bills of goods and services purchased prior to taking out the loan.

The Senate passed H.R. 1799 on March 25, 2021 by a vote of 92 to 7 (Roll Call 140). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to bail out or lend funds to business.

During consideration of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (S. 914), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to “limit the authority to reserve water rights in designating a national monument.” The amendment stated: “(1) No reservation of water rights. — In designating a national monument under subsection (a), the President may not reserve any implied or expressed water rights associated with the national monument. (2) Applicable law. — Water rights associated with a national monument designated under subsection (a) may be acquired for the national monument only in accordance with the laws of the State in which the water rights are located.”

The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on April 29, 2021 by a vote of 41 to 54 (Roll Call 177). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to designate national monuments or to grant water rights.

During consideration of the Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to, as he described it from the Senate floor, “simply prohibit any research funded, for the Endless Frontier Act, from using any fetal tissue obtained from an abortion and from creating, destroying, discarding, or putting human embryos at risk.” Lee’s amendment would have essentially codified the National Science Foundation’s agency policy banning research that destroys or creates human embryos.

The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on May 25, 2021 by a vote of 48 to 51 (Roll Call 206). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because not only does the Constitution not authorize the federal government to fund any type of research that incentivizes abortion, but all human life, at every stage of development from fertilization onward, is sacred and taxpayers should not be forced to pay for the destruction and unethical manipulation of such life.

S. 1260, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, would authorize $250 billion over five years for federal funding of scientific research and development programs, including more than $52 billion for the U.S. semiconductor industry; $81 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), including $52 billion for the existing NSF programs and $29 billion for a new NSF directorate for technology and innovation that would support research and development in key areas such as artificial intelligence, automation, quantum computing, biotechnology, and advanced energy; and $23.5 billion (in fiscal 2021 alone) for NASA.

The Senate passed S. 1260 on June 8, 2021 by a vote of 68 to 32 (Roll Call 226). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize Congress to fund research and development programs.

The For the People Act (S. 2093) would implement a sweeping federalization of American elections. Among the bill’s provisions, S. 2093 would force states to implement nationwide Internet, automatic, and same-day voter registration. The bill would also mandate states to allow mail-in voting for all voters, make ballot “drop boxes” available in every county, and implement early voting that begins at least 15 days prior to an election. Additionally, S. 2093 would prohibit voter caging, greatly reducing verification of voter-registration lists; require states to set up “independent redistricting commissions” that take redistricting authority out of state legislatures’ hands; and enact additional campaign-finance regulations.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 2093, but on a motion to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could be voted on. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on June 22, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 50 (Roll Call 246; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because, under our system of government, state legislatures possess primary authority over regulating congressional elections.