RICHMOND — In an unanimous decision, the Richmond City Council passed a resolution asking the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate impeaching President Donald Trump for not selling off his business interests after assuming the nation’s highest office.

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Letters: Pleasanton Council | Undoing gains The resolution is the first such move by a city, according to the activists who spearheaded the effort. It’s also symbolic in nature and unlikely to go anywhere. Still, backers say that it’s an important step to voice their concerns about the new president’s conflicts of interest and the direction he is taking the country.

At issue is the “Emoluments Clause,” a previously little-known constitutional provision that says that U.S. presidents may not accept gifts or make a profit from any foreign state. Critics say the president’s many business holdings continue to benefit him directly, even as he has handed over the day-to-day operations of his businesses to his children.

“This is our voice, this is our country and we have a right to speak up,” said Councilwoman Gayle McLaughlin, the author of the resolution approved Tuesday. “We all have concerns about how we are moving forward in terms of upholding the sanctuary status we have…and the federal government trying to deny funding to cities that have such funding.”

Backers of the resolution point to Trump’s recent invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mar-a-Lago, his opulent country club in Palm Beach, Florida, as just one example of how the new president’s business interests often collide with his executive duties. Soon after Trump became president, membership fees to Mar-a-Lago doubled to $200,000 a year, according to news reports.

“The courts have already ruled Trump’s travel ban unconstitutional and I think they’re going to find that a lot of other stuff is unconstitutional as well,” said Councilman Jael Myrick.

In January, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog organization, filed a lawsuit against President Trump alleging that he is in violation of the little-known constitutional provision because “Trump-owned buildings take in rent, room rentals and other payments from foreign governments.”

The Emoluments Clause has never been “seriously tested” in court, according to the Washington Post.