FACT CHECK: No, Biden Didn’t Ratify The ERA

A post shared on X claims that former President Joe Biden ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the 28th Amendment.

holy shit – Biden ratified ERA pic.twitter.com/l15xMtylvi

— Sarah Burris (@SarahBurris) January 17, 2025

Verdict: Misleading

Biden declared that the ERA was part of the Constitution as the 28th Amendment, but the Archivist has stated it will not certify the amendment.

Fact Check:

Social media users are claiming that Biden ratified the ERA as the 28th Amendment. One user wrote, “holy shit – Biden ratified ERA.” (RELATED: Did Pope Francis Say That Jesus Was Born During A Census Taken By King David?)

This claim is misleading. It is true that Biden released a statement stating that he will “affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”

His statement, though, does not have any “legal force,” according to The New York Times. The Archivist of the United States refused to certify the amendment last month and referred publications to its previous statement on the matter, per the NYT.

“In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable. The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid. Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate,” the statement partially reads.

To actually come into effect, the Archivist has to certify and publish the amendment, according to NPR. White House told reporters that Biden will not order the Archivist to do so, meaning the move is largely symbolic.