Bill shields sitting and former Presidents from state courts with near-total immunity

What it does

This bill expands the ability of current and former Presidents, Vice Presidents, and federal officials to remove state-court cases against them to federal court, and creates a new federal immunity shield that presumes they acted lawfully unless proven otherwise by clear and convincing evidence. It applies retroactively to all pending cases and makes it easier for the federal government to defend or pay for private lawyers for these officials.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is to expand removal jurisdiction for cases against sitting and former Presidents and federal officials, create a presumption of immunity, and shift the evidentiary burden to the challenger. This is functionally a broad immunity grant and litigation shield for the executive branch, not a procedural clarification.

What the text implies

• The 'prima facie showing' standard in amended § 1442(a) is undefined and may allow removal on minimal evidence, effectively gutting state-court jurisdiction before the merits are heard.
• Section 1456(e) creates a blanket dismissal rule for cases against Presidents/VPs unless the challenger proves by clear and convincing evidence that the case does not 'in any way interfere, hinder, burden, or delay' executive duties—a nearly impossible standard that presumes any litigation is a burden.
• Section 1456(b) prohibits courts from considering the nature or elements of the underlying charge when determining immunity, preventing fact-specific analysis and creating categorical immunity regardless of conduct.
• The Attorney General's authority to represent or pay for private counsel for federal officials (§ 1456(c)) creates an open-ended federal liability for defending officials in state prosecutions, with no cap or limitation.
• Section 1456(d) prohibits courts from defining or limiting the scope of duties of Executive Office of the President officials, potentially shielding a broad class of White House staff from judicial review.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens lose meaningful access to state courts for claims against sitting and former Presidents and federal officials, and face a presumption of official immunity that is nearly impossible to overcome (clear and convincing evidence standard). The bill also allows the federal government to pay for private counsel defending these officials, shifting litigation costs from the defendant to taxpayers.

Who stands to gain

• federal officials (litigation defense costs paid by taxpayers)
• private counsel retained to defend federal officials (at prevailing rates paid by federal government

Named in the bill

President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Attorney General, Executive Office of the President, Federal officials, State courts, 28 U.S.C. § 1442, 28 U.S.C. § 1455, 28 U.S.C. § 1456 (new), Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution

Where it stands

• Mar 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
• Mar 5, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Mar 5, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 14 - 11”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 9 disclosure filings across 6 quarters, Mar 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $5,086,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 34 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Russell Fry, the sponsor, reported $817,999 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Association for Justice — $3,610,000 on 2 filings
• Service Employees International Union Ctw-clc — $1,386,000 on 5 filings
• People for the American Way — $90,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.