“The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment,” Biden wrote. “I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.

Legal scholars say President Joe Biden might be right about the Equal Rights Amendment — but his declaration on Friday has no legal significance. In a surprise move on his way out of office, Biden proclaimed that the amendment has met the requirements for ratification and is now part of the Constitution.

The Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit discrimination based on gender, was sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Congress set a deadline of 1979 for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify the amendment, then extended it to 1982.