President Joe Biden stated Friday that he believes the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal rights for women, to be “the law of the land.” The surprising announcement came at the eleventh hour of his presidency and sparked celebration among the amendment’s backers.

“It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I 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,” Biden said in a statement Friday.

There’s just one caveat: Biden’s declaration does not have any formal effect because the executive branch does not have a direct role in the amendment process.

In order for the ERA to go into effect, it would have to be formally published or certified by the National Archivist. Per NPR, the White House told reporters on a conference call that Biden will not be ordering the archivist to certify and publish the ERA. A senior administration official said that the archivist’s role is “purely ministerial,” and the archivist is required to publish the amendment once it is ratified.

The Equal Rights Amendment, passed by Congress in 1972, prohibits federal and state governments from denying rights on the basis of sex. The Constitution requires that amendments take effect when three-quarters of the states ratify them. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment in 2020, but that came long after the 1982 deadline set by Congress.

Last month, the archivist’s office said in a statement that it could not legally certify and publish the amendment because the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has twice affirmed that the 1982 ratification deadline Congress established for the ERA is valid and enforceable.

Congress or the courts would need to take new action to extend or renew the deadline for ratification for the archivist to publish the amendment, the archivist said.

Biden’s move follows appeals from activists and Democratic lawmakers, including New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who argued the amendment could be an avenue for protecting abortion rights. Gillibrand lauded Biden’s declaration in a statement Friday.

“This is an incredible moment for reproductive freedom, and a historic day for equality — especially with Americans facing the further degradation of reproductive freedom as the incoming administration takes power,” she wrote.