Foreign Emoluments Clause

The Foreign Emoluments Clause is a provision in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution that prohibits the federal government from granting titles of nobility, and restricts federal officials from receiving gifts, emoluments, offices or titles from foreign states and monarchies without the consent of the United States Congress.^[1] Also known as the Titles of Nobility Clause, it was designed to shield the U.S. federal officeholders against so-called "corrupting foreign influences". The clause is reinforced by the corresponding prohibition on state titles of nobility in Article I, Section 10, and more generally by the Republican Guarantee Clause in Article IV, Section 4.^[2]

As the Foreign Emoluments Clause has rarely been subject to substantive judicial analysis or interpretation,^[3] its exact meaning and scope remain debated; the consensus among legal scholars is that the prohibition applies broadly to all federal officeholders—whether appointed or elected, up to and including the president—and encompasses any kind of profit, benefit, advantage, or services.^[4]