Claudine Schneider is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. A moderate Republican, Schneider was elected to the House from the 2nd District of the State of Rhode Island.
More recently, the Republican Party has taken a decidedly different turn from Schneider's heyday. Perhaps most exemplified by ex-U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump is running again for the United States Presidency. But Schneider and several others think they may have a case that says Trump is ineligible for the office.
File a lawsuit that invokes the 14th Amendment
The Providence Journal and Yahoo report that Claudine Schneider is among the plaintiffs in a unique court case. The lawsuit has been filed in Colorado, where Schneider now resides. But similar filings have been made in several other states as well. Donald Trump and Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold are the defendants.
The watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics and Washington is making the case on behalf of six Coloradans. The voters and the organization say that Trump's previous actions have Constitutionally barred him from seeking another term as president. Their argument stems from the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, particularly its contents referencing insurrection and rebellion.
It says that somebody who commits such acts against the United States cannot hold one of its federal or state elected offices.
The plaintiffs in the claim say that Trump did commit insurrection. After losing the 2020 presidential election, Trump made several false claims about election tampering. He was also encouraging of, among other things, the idea of Congress not certifying the election result.
Thousands of Trump supporters raided the U.S. Capitol in early 2021 to stop the certification, leading to multiple deaths and injuries.
"Donald Trump tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election," says the lawsuit. Adding that Trump "incited, exacerbated, and otherwise engaged in a violent insurrection" regarding the Capitol riot.
It adds that he "refused to protect the Capitol or call off the mob" during the first hours of the attack.
Schneider was first elected to the U.S. House in 1980, defeating Democratic incumbent Edward Beard. She was elected to another four terms.
Schneider ran for the United States Senate
Claudine Schneider did not run for re-election to the House in 1990. Instead, she challenged longtime Democratic incumbent Rhode Island U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time and previously chaired the Senate Ethics Committee. He was also a retired, high-ranking U.S. Coast Guard officer and a World War II veteran. Pell fended off Schneider in the general election by a wide margin.
Afterward, Schneider took on a faculty position at Harvard University. She would eventually move to Boulder, Colorado.
Also among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is Norma Anderson, a former Republican Colorado state legislator. Anderson has been the majority leader of both the Colorado Senate and Colorado House of Representatives.
