Citizen McCain Measure on the Move

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced today that it will take up a resolution next Thursday expressing the sense of the Senate that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is "a natural-born citizen."

The issue has surfaced because McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, where his father was stationed in the military, raising the question of whether McCain fits the constitutional requirement that the president be a natural-born citizen. This resolution, sponsored by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), would not have the force of law but would at least allow the Senate to make its view known if McCain's eligibility gets a serious challenge in court. The resolution is expected to pass easily out of the Judiciary panel, and eventually out of the full Senate.