The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution endorsing John McCain's eligibility for the presidency even though he was born outside the U.S. on a military base in the Panama Canal Zone.
The U.S. Constitution requires that presidents be "natural born citizens," a term that is not defined.
The Senate voted for a nonbinding resolution declaring that McCain, whose father was in the Navy, was born to American citizens on a U.S. military base in 1936 and is a "natural born citizen" eligible for the office.
McCain, 71, an Arizona senator, is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Two lawsuits have sought to have McCain declared ineligible. The Senate resolution approved today is nonbinding and wouldn't directly affect the lawsuits.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said the measure should "erase any doubt that Senator McCain is eligible to run for president because of his citizenship status."
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The Democratic presidential candidates, Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York, backed the resolution as co-sponsors.
The resolution says there is no evidence that the framers of the Constitution intended to limit the rights of children born to Americans serving in the military.
McCain last week told reporters that he considers any issue about his eligibility settled because Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee in 1964, was born in Arizona when it was still a territory.
