Oaths and pledges have been routine for political officials. That’s changing in a polarized America
Columbus, Ohio — The resignation letter was short and direct.
“I can no longer be under an oath to uphold Ohio’s new Constitution,” Sabrina Warner wrote in her letter announcing she is stepping down from the state’s Republican Central Committee.
It was just days after Ohio voters loudly approved an amendment to the state constitution last November that guaranteed access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. For many, the vote was a victory after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a constitutional right to abortion in 2022.
For Warner, a staunch opponent of abortion, this meant she could no longer abide by the Ohio Constitution, which she had proudly sworn to a little more than a year earlier.
Throughout modern American history, elected officials have sworn to uphold the Constitution and taken the Pledge of Allegiance without much controversy. In a handful of cases lately, these routine practices have fallen victim to the same political divisions that have left the country deeply polarized.
Disagreements over abortion rights, gun control and treatment of racial minorities are among the issues that have led several political leaders to say they cannot take an oath or recite the pledge.
Some Republicans, including Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a candidate for governor, point to amendments enshrining abortion rights in state constitutions. Ohio’s protections passed last fall, and advocates are proposing an initiative on the Missouri ballot this year.
Warner signed her resignation letter, which took effect two days after the Ohio vote, with a biblical reference to “the cowardly, the vile, the murderers” and more being “relegated to the fiery lake of burning brimstone.” She did not return messages seeking comment.
In Tennessee, Democratic Rep. refused. Justin Jones vowed to lead a legislative session this month. He gained national attention after being one of two black lawmakers whom Republicans briefly expelled from the state House last year after he and two other Democrats took part in a rally advocating for gun control from the House floor, which outraged Republican members because this was contrary to the rules of the House.
Members of the Tennessee House are being called on to find a minister who can lead a prayer before the start of a session and then lead the chamber in pledging to the American flag. Just before he was to do so, Jones handed a handwritten note to the House clerk that read, “I prefer not to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.”
His refusal came as he criticized his Republican colleagues for being racist and focusing on what he believes are the wrong issues, such as attacking the LGBTQ+ community instead of addressing gun control, nearly a year after six people, including three children, were killed in a school shooting in Nashville.
While another Democratic lawmaker, an Army veteran, led the pledge without commenting on Jones’ refusal, Republicans quickly expressed outrage over Jones’ decision. Republican Rep. Jeremy Faison called Jones’ refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance a “disgrace.”
“In my opinion he should resign. That is a shame for veterans and for people who came before us,” Faison said.
Jones later responded to Republican criticism, saying he “couldn’t get me to join their performative patriotism as they continue to support an insurrectionist for president and undermine liberty and justice for all.”
Jones’ position was reminiscent of a similar stance from 2001, when then-Tennessee Rep. Henri Brooks said she was chastised by Republican leaders for refusing to join her fellow lawmakers in the pledge. Brooks, who is Black, told media at the time that she had not said the pledge since she was in third grade, refusing to do so because the American flag represented the colonies that enslaved her ancestors.
Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump refused to sign a loyalty oath in Illinois, a pledge that has been in place since the McCarthy era.
The section that Trump left unsigned confirms that candidates “do not directly or indirectly teach or advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States or the State, or “any unlawful change in the form of the governments thereof by force or by any unlawful means .” Trump, who signed the voluntary oath during his presidential runs in 2016 and 2020, has yet to say why he did not sign it this time.
He has faced a number of state cases seeking to bar him from the ballot in connection with his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a matter currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
His spokesman, Steven Cheung, did not return an email seeking comment, but told the news media in a statement in January: “President Trump will retake the oath of office on January 20, 2025, swearing ‘to faithfully discharge the office of his office’. President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. ”
Unlike the Pledge of Allegiance, refusing to take an oath of office often carries the higher price of not being able to hold an elected position.
In Missouri, Ashcroft drew attention in October when he said he would refuse to take the oath of office as governor if voters protected the right to abortion in the state constitution.
“Every time a state official is sworn in, we swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the State of Missouri,” he told reporters after an abortion-related hearing. “If I can’t do that, I will have to resign from my position. I cannot take an oath and then refuse to do what I said I would do.”
The issue has also roiled Republicans in the Missouri Senate. Sen. Rick Brattin, head of the state chapter of the Freedom Caucus, said that if voters in November approve a proposed ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, “You would have to take an oath to protect and defend death. of the unborn.”
Similar concerns were raised at the federal level in the landmark Dobbs case, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Foundation to Abolish Abortion argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in the case would play a crucial role in the extent to which people respected the Constitution. “U.S. government officials have taken an oath to follow the Court to the extent that the Court follows the Constitution, but no further,” the group and other abortion opponents wrote in a letter from a friend of the court.
Chris Redfern said Republican concerns about adding abortion rights to a state constitution are in stark contrast to how Democrats handled a previous flashpoint. He was elected chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party in 2005 after voters included a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution. He said he doesn’t recall any opponents of the amendment who have considered taking their oath or resigning before it.
“Back in the day, before the Tea Party and then Trump, there was seriousness about the Constitution and taking the oath of office on swearing-in day,” said Redfern, a former state lawmaker. “Especially with the polarization that Donald Trump has caused. I don’t think there is respect for these kinds of instruments. There is certainly no compliance, but I don’t think the legislators care that much. They know that they have to take an oath every few weeks to get paid.”
___
Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tennessee.