MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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An invitation to understand

The Constitution,
connected.

Start with a question. Follow a connection.
Discover the ideas that hold a republic together.

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The constitutional text

Article I · Section 6

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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Go at your own pace

You don’t have to understand everything at once. One connection is a good beginning.

LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER

Article I, Section 6, Clause 2 — ineligibility

No legislating a new job for oneself

Current text
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time;

What it means

A member cannot be appointed during the elected term to a federal civil office created during that term or whose compensation increased during it. The relevant period is the term for which the member was elected.

Historical setting

The restriction addresses the temptation to create attractive offices and then occupy them. It also helps prevent an executive from winning legislative support through newly manufactured rewards.

What it does

Resigning from Congress does not automatically erase the term-based restriction. The clause focuses on the timing of the office’s creation or increased emoluments, not merely whether a person simultaneously occupies both positions.

Debate & interpretation

The rule sacrifices some appointment flexibility to reduce conflicts of interest. Difficult applications can concern what constitutes an office, an increase in emoluments, or an effective remedy for a prior increase.

A common misreading

This is not a lifetime ban on appointing former legislators to executive or judicial office.

Think it through

Why would a conflict-of-interest rule continue for the elected term even after the member resigns?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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