With all the legal authority of Michael Scott from “The Office” declaring bankruptcy, Joe Biden has declared the long-defunct Equal Rights Amendment to be the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

Wait, you say. A president just can’t declare that a constitutional amendment – one whose expiration date for ratification has long since passed – is now the law! OH HO HO HO, you underestimate the hubris and idiocy of Joe Biden! Not only does he think that he can declare the Equal Rights Amendment to be law, he did it via a post on X three days before he leaves office. And that tweet has already been bodyslammed with a Community Note for the ages.

Today I'm affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified:

The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex. pic.twitter.com/oZtS6Q89zG

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 17, 2025

The link in the Community Note goes back to a statement from the National Archives, dated December 17, 2024.

Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan and Deputy Archivist William J. Bosanko released the following statement today on the Equal Rights Amendment and the constitutional responsibilities for administering the ratification process:

“As Archivist and Deputy Archivist of the United States, it is our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the constitutional amendment process and ensure that changes to the Constitution are carried out in accordance with the law. At this time, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions.

“In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable. The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid. Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate.

“The role of the Archivist of the United States is to follow the law as it stands, ensuring the integrity of our nation’s governing institutions. Personal opinion or beliefs are not relevant; as the leaders of the National Archives, we support established legal processes and decisions.

“We will continue to serve with transparency and integrity as we move forward in addressing this and all matters related to our Constitution.”

So, someone in the White House has to realize that the Archivist put forward this statement EXACTLY ONE MONTH AGO, and decided to yell “LEEEROY JENKINS!” and put out this tweet under Joe Biden’s name. And now they have gotten Grandpa all pumped up with Adderall to give ONE MORE SPEECH (I though he said goodbye, and instead he’s on a speech giving marathon before forcible retirement) at the U.S. Conference of Mayors and announce this glorious manufactured moment for the cranky and biter old man.

LYING BIDEN IS AT IT AGAIN! 3 MORE DAYS AND HE'LL BE GONE!

The executive branch doesn't have a direct role in the amendment process, and Biden is not going to order the archivist to certify and publish the ERA, the White House told reporters on a conference call. pic.twitter.com/g98uxDmeZV

— Steve Gruber (@stevegrubershow) January 17, 2025

Like obedient little lemmings, Democrats are falling into line. Kamala Harris put out a statement on X to cheer Biden on (though she, interestingly, does not explicitly say that the ERA is now law, only that she supports it). Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois read out the X post on the Senate floor, and then added his support.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York tweeted out her support as well, encouraging people to use this “amendment” as a basis for lawsuits.

President Biden just declared that the Equal Rights Amendment is now a valid part of the Constitution, and should be considered the law of the land.

This is an incredible moment for reproductive freedom, and a historic day for equality – especially with Americans facing the… https://t.co/ZoRdbDFoug

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) January 17, 2025

Her full post reads:

President Biden just declared that the Equal Rights Amendment is now a valid part of the Constitution, and should be considered the law of the land.

This is an incredible moment for reproductive freedom, and a historic day for equality – especially with Americans facing the further degradation of reproductive freedom as the incoming administration takes power.

Now, women living in states with restrictions on their reproductive freedoms can – and should – file suits to overturn these unconstitutional laws that discriminate on the basis of sex. I know they will have ample support as they seek justice, and I promise to stand by their side in this fight.

As Professor Jonathan Turley pointed out back in 2022 (which he retweeted today), the Equal Rights Amendment had its day – and it missed. It would have to go through the entire process again.

The deadline for ratification of the act was set for March 22, 1979 — an ample seven years to secure the required approval by three-quarters of the states, or 38 states. But it fell short of that constitutional threshold. Not only that, but four states — Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky — rescinded their prior ratifications; a fifth, South Dakota, set its ratification to expire if the ERA was not adopted by the 1979 deadline.

Kentucky adds a different wrinkle because its Democratic lieutenant governor vetoed the resolution rescinding the ratification when the governor was out of town. However, Article V speaks of ratifications by state legislatures.

Democrats argued that states could not rescind their votes, even before the threshold number of states is reached. Yet, they still fell short. So, Democrats and then-President Carter simply extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. In 1981, a federal district court ruled in Idaho v. Freeman that Congress could not extend the ERA’s ratification deadline. (The Supreme Court later stayed that order but then declared the matter moot.)

While the extension continued to be questioned constitutionally, it did not matter: Not a single new state was added during that extended period. Even assuming that the five states could be counted despite the votes to rescind their ratifications, the ERA was still three states short when it missed the second deadline.

Democrats again insisted that deadlines and the state rescissions could be ignored. In 2017, Nevada went ahead and ratified the dead amendment while Illinois did so in 2018. Then, in 2020, Virginia passed a ratification resolution for the ERA. And then — poof! Democrats declared the ERA passed, 41 years after the original deadline and 38 years after the second deadline.

Yet, in the end, the Office of the Federal Register must confirm the “facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature” of the state documents and confirm that they are “in good order.” Now, the ERA ratification may be many things, but “in good order” is not one of them. Indeed, the record looks like an interstate pileup.

So now, we wait for some activist group to try and use this mythical ERA as the basis of a lawsuit, and for a court to strike down the whole charade. But there is a deeper, uglier, strain running through this whole farce.

Telling people to use the “28th Amendment” in lawsuits is yet another part of the Left’s war against judicial legitimacy https://t.co/UvdNqCawyJ

— John Hasson (@SonofHas) January 17, 2025

This push by Biden, a mere three days before he leaves office, is absolute insanity. And it is a complete wrecking ball to any idea that may have still existed that Joe Biden was all about “returning to norms” and being the adult in the room. He’s trying to declare an amendment by presidential fiat, when it clearly has not met the standards set by Congress and cannot be published by the Archivist. Someone got to the old man and told him that this, THIS, could be a final glowing star in his whole legacy. That person is probably the same one responsible for leaving cocaine in the White House, because one would have to be high as a kite to believe that announcing “I DECLARE AN AMENDMENT” on X would work.

And not just humiliating for Biden and his team. Humiliating for all those people who said Biden was a decent guy who respects the law and America's institutions and were rewarded with the student-loan grab, eviction moratorium, pardon of Hunter, and now this. It's hilarious.

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) January 17, 2025

Joe Biden is not only an intellectual lightweight addled by dementia, and constitutionally illiterate, but he is also a freaking coward. To pull this stunt three days before leaving office, three days before his ass is permanently planted on the sandy beaches of Delaware to molder into oblivion, is the height of political cowardice. He and his staff knew there was no way this declaration would pass legal muster, so better to drop the cherry bomb in the toilet and then run for it, than stick around and stick up for the legal proceedings that could have followed.

Well, hang yet another soiled diaper on the fireplace mantle of the Biden administration. In the end, that is what this “declaration” is worth. But hold your breath, everyone – Joe Biden likely has a few more turds to drop on the Oval Office carpet before Monday.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click