In the United States, everyone elected to governmental office, military service members, and naturalized citizens are required to take a solemn oath to uphold and defend our Constitution

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an oath as “a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a deity to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says.”

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But is this crucial oath of allegiance to America, our Constitution, and our system of government taken seriously by all? Or are many who are elected or becoming citizens declaring a false oath today?

The Biblical Meaning of Oaths

An oath in Scriptural terms is a holy promise before God as witness to the truth and binding nature of the promise made. The oath given attests to the sacredness of one’s word. In the Old Testament, oaths were common and unbreakable. (Numbers 3: 2)

God prohibited all false oaths to be made saying, Do not swear falsely by any name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:12 NIV)

When Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin after His arrest, the high priest said to Him, I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the son of God. Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. (Matthew 26:63-64 NIV).

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 33-37), Jesus instructs believers not to swear an oath. Simply let your Yes be Yes and your No be No, he said. In this instruction, He was calling Christians to an even higher standard of truthfulness and integrity in their promises without the need for an additional oath. Christians are called to be a people of our word.

But what about oaths taken in allegiance to our country?

What the Founding Fathers Decided

When the founding fathers were drafting the Constitution, the subject of oaths of office came up. The patriots were divided. They had spent many years declaring oaths of allegiance to the King of England. Should free men living in a free country be required to take an oath, they wondered.

The founders decided to require an oath for federal and elected officials, but with no religious test. Their instruction for oaths was included in Article VI, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution…

“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

The President’s Oath of Office was detailed specifically in Article II, Section 1 Clause 8 of the Constitution…

“Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation – “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The Founders left the wording of the oath for the Vice-President and members of the other branches to Congress. The First Congress (1789-1791) established the Oath of Office to be…

“I, NAME, do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States.”

That was it. A plain and simple oath – not to a president – but to the Constitution of the United States.

Changes to the Oath Made Over the Years

The oath remained the same until 1861. During the Civil War to take into account the South’s secession from the U.S., the oath was changed to…

“I, NAME, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Since the Civil War, the oath has been added to from time to time until 1966. Since then, no changes have been made. Today, it reads…

“I, NAME, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

The Oath of Allegiance

Since 1790, the Unite States has allowed foreign-born legal immigrants to become U.S. citizens. To do so, they are required to take an oath of “renunciation and allegiance” in a public ceremony. The oath symbolizes and legalizes their transition from immigrant to U.S. citizen.

According to the Policy Manual of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the oath is “a formal declaration of loyalty and commitment to the United States, its Constitution, and its laws.” Today’s Oath of Allegiance is as follows…

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

The oath must be spoken aloud to be legal.

Common Threads in Every Oath

Oaths of office and allegiance have been part of the fabric of our nation since its founding. Military service members take an Oath of Enlistment which is the same oath as members of Congress with a switch of the last line to obey the orders of the Commander-in-Chief and superior officers.

Common threads run throughout every oath from the President to the newest citizen. The #1 Promise is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and except for the Presidential Oath which is dictated by the Constitution, that promise includes… against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Except for the presidential oath, every oath promises to bear true faith and allegiance to the same (meaning the Constitution) … and without purpose of evasion.

Naturalized citizens promise the same but are also required to renounce any prior allegiances to their country of birth.

So what happens when our foreign-born, but naturalized citizens, as well as our elected officials, fail to uphold their oath?

Naturalized citizens could have their citizenship revoked if they obtained citizenship illegally, willfully withheld material facts, becomes a member of the Communist party or a terrorist organization, commits treason, or tries to overthrow the government.

Congressional Failures to Uphold the Oath

In the current 119^th Congress, 19 members are foreign-born naturalized citizens – 17 House members and two senators. Many are born to immigrant parents and are first-generation American? But where does their allegiance lie? For instance:

►Representative Ilan Omar (D-MN), born in Somalia to Nur Omar Mohammed, a colonel in the brutal, genocidal army of Somali dictator, Siad Biarre. She arrived as a “refugee” and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. She was elected to Congress from her heavily Somali district in 2018. She has made many anti-American comments over her career including comparing the U.S. to terrorist organizations, called the U.S. “g*dd**n states”, and said the U.S. is turning into “one of the worst countries” in the world. Is this free speech? Sure, but is she holding true faith and allegiance and breaking her Oath of Office and her Oath of Allegiance?

►Representatives, Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) was born in India, came to America on a student visa and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. She describes America’s immigration policies as a “lawless reign of terror” and calls ICE a “terrorist force”. Does she not know that it’s Congress that has passed every immigration law? She has blamed Israel for the October 6^th Hamas attacks. She has undermined U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba – a failed communist regime. Is she showing true faith and allegiance to the Constitution?

►Representative Rashid Tlaib (D MI) was born in America to Palestinian immigrants and is extremely anti-Israel and anti-American. She claims America was built on “slavery and genocide and rape and oppression.” Her allegiance appears to be Palestine first, before America. She projects a treasonous hatred of America. Is she showing true faith and allegiance to America as she promised in her Oath of Office?

►Representative Delia Ramirez (D-IL), the American-born daughter of illegal immigrants from Guatemala declared in Spanish while in Mexico “I am a proud Guatemalan before I am an American.” Is that showing true faith and allegiance to the U.S. above a foreign country?

These are just a few examples of Congress members wading into the murky waters of potentially breaking their oath of office. Did they take their oaths with the purpose of evasion? Could you then describe these constitutionally elected office holders “domestic enemies”?

Now there’s another group more blatant about their intention to undermine and even overthrow the U.S. government who are seeing to join Congress? Will they be false oath takers?

Who is a Domestic Enemy?

Aside from appearing in the oaths mentioned above, the concept of “domestic enemy” is not found in federal law. But it was added to the oaths after an actual rebellion and treason. i.e. the establishment of the Confederacy.

Many constitutional scholars describe a domestic enemy as someone proposing “political reforms outside the Constitution. You have to stay loyal to the government that is based on the Constitution, and you can’t support a rebellion or the overthrow of that government.” To do so are the acts of a domestic enemy.

The Democratic Socialists of America

With that definition in mind, let’s turn to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – the far-left socialists – who are winning Democratic primaries across America and taking the Democratic party beyond progressivism into communism.

Astonishingly, the Democratic Party appears to be completely on board with the DSA and declare that these extreme radicals belong in their Big Tent.

DSA candidates are not even hiding their revolutionary agenda calling for the overthrow of our Constitution, our American system of government, and for creating a new one. Meanwhile, elected Democrats of Congress applaud and endorse these candidates.

The DSA platform promises to shred the Constitution, tear down our 239-year old government, “abolish the Electoral College and the Senate, replace the president and the Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.” That is certainly proposing reforms outside the Constitution.

How can a DSA member take the Congressional Oath of Office or become U.S. citizens if they want to abolish the Constitution? Wouldn’t their stated objective to overthrow the Constistution – not support and defend it — make them a domestic enemy?

And are sitting Democrats in Congress who are endorsing DSA candidates and campaigning with them – Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Reuben Gallego and Reps. A-O Cortiz, Ro Kanna, Rashida Tlaib, Aryana Pressly and countless others… also failing in their oath to support and defend the constitution by endorsing DSA candidates?

Are these DSA Democratic supporters in danger of being labeled domestic enemies as well, since they are endorsing candidates who wish to overthrow the Constitution?

In addition to their treasonous agenda, the DSA platform also includes open borders, amnesty for all illegals, the government takeover of corporations, abolishing ICE, defunding the police, emptying prisons, ending capitalism, and punitively taxing the wealthy.

And here’s more from the DSA: “You have no debt. You don’t need health insurance. You don’t pay a mortgage or have a landlord, because comfortable housing is a human right. Your retirement is publicly funded. Food, education, energy, medicine, and transportation aren’t for-profit businesses; they are common goods and utilities.” In addition, DSA is blatantly antisemitic, anti-Israel, pro Hamas and pro Iran.

And let’s face it, isn’t your progressive Leftist sitting in Congress today pretty much on the same page with everything I mentioned in the last two paragraphs? So, how far of a stretch is it for them to embrace the rest?

Oath Breakers Beware

If ever there was an oath breaker and domestic enemy you could easily point to, it’s the Democratic Socialists of America and those that endorse them.

For 236 years, oaths have served our country well illuminating clearly what our expectations are for elected officials, service members and naturalized citizens.

So, when it’s clear an elected member of Congress is breaking their Oath of Office, the House and Senate have the constitutional authority to expel them, but will they? It takes a two-thirds vote. Only 15 senators have been expelled from the Senate, 14 of whom were senators representing Confederate states; in the House, only five members have been expelled, three of whom were Confederates.

Congress also has the constitutional authority to exclude a member-elect from being seated. That requires a simple majority. Age, citizenship and residence were the initial three qualifications for being a member of Congress. The 14th Amendment added a fourth qualification—those who violated their constitutional oath by engaging in insurrection, rebellion or treason, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. They cannot be representatives or senators.

Exclusion has happened only once before. In 1919 the House voted 309 to 1 not to seat Victor L. Berger, the first socialist congressman, based on Section 3 of the 14^th Amendment. His Socialist Party of America spawned the current Democratic Socialist Party currently taking over the Democrat party.

Congress alone has the power to decide who can and can’t be seated in the house or Senate. Today, the question is simple…

Will Congress allow open enemies of the U.S. Constitution, who wish to destroy the U.S.A., and who have no intention of honoring their Oath of Office, to be seated in the 120^th Congress on January 3, 2027?

Let’s Pray the Answer is No

Lord, we pray against the evil spirit of socialism spreading throughout our country. We pray that the Democratic Socialist Party and all those that support and endorse them will be exposed as anti-American and their plans of destruction will come to nothing. We pray for the eyes of voters to be opened to this evil and deceptive ideology.

We pray for all who take their Oaths of Office, Enlistment or Allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. We pray they will take their oaths seriously,, reverently, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. We pray that all False Oath Takers will be brought to light and the United States officials will act swiftly and justly to remove them from office or refuse to allow them to serve.

Fill our government and our country with people who love You and desire Your goodness and justice to flow in the land. We pray for Your spirit of truth to descend upon our country. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren.