WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that would require members of the House, Senate, federal judiciary, and other Senate-confirmed appointees to be natural-born U.S. citizens. Mace named Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Shri Thanedar, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal as foreign-born lawmakers whose loyalties she questioned.

"If the president has to be natural-born, so too should members of Congress, so too should our judges. That's what my legislation was about," Mace said. She also said, "We don't have to look any further than Ilhan Omar or that guy, I can't say his last name, Shri. These are people who've pledged allegiance to foreign countries."

Mace said she would "be fine" making the amendment retroactive and that it should apply to individuals who should not be serving in Congress, in addition to affecting future election cycles. In a post on X, she wrote: "Ilhan Omar. Shri Thanedar. Pramila Jayapal. All born in foreign countries, none were citizens by birth. All sitting in the United States Congress. All making clear every single day their loyalty is not to America." In a separate post, she wrote: "For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first. We see it every day. This constitutional amendment will put an end to it."

Omar was born in Somalia and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000. Thanedar was born in India and became a U.S. citizen in 1988. Jayapal was born in India and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. Asked about the proposal, Omar told Fox News Digital, "Good luck to her."

Jayapal condemned the proposal in a statement, calling it "xenophobic" and "narrow-minded." She said, "Instead of working to help the American people, as so many cannot keep the lights on, keep food on the table, or pay their rent, Nancy Mace is instead introducing racist legislation that denies the very history of a country that has been proudly shaped by immigrants." Jayapal also said, "This is also insulting to the hundreds of thousands of constituents who elected naturalized citizens into office."

Twenty-six members of the House, including 19 Democrats and seven Republicans, were born outside the U.S. Six senators — four Democrats and two Republicans — were also born abroad. The proposed amendment would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of U.S. states to become law. The proposal has not drawn widespread public backing from House GOP leadership or a large group of Republican co-sponsors.