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By Mandy Taheri
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Representative Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, has proposed a resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution that would allow presidents to serve a third term under certain conditions. But how likely is the proposal to advance and what does the process entail?
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House earlier this week for his second term, has hinted at the possibility of serving an additional term. Now, a new proposal that would amend the Constitution aims to make that a reality.
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However, the process of amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult, aimed at ensuring broad support for changes and limiting alterations to foundational laws.
What To Know
The Constitution's 22nd Amendment states that "no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." Ratified in 1951, it was primarily a response to Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented four terms as president.
On Thursday, Ogles introduced a resolution to allow presidents to serve up to three terms in office, as long as they have not served two consecutive terms. The GOP lawmaker specifically introduced the proposal with Trump in mind.
Trump is the second U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms, after President Grover Cleveland.
Amending the U.S. Constitution is difficult as it requires the legislation to first pass through with a two-thirds majority in both congressional chambers. In the new Congress, Republicans hold a narrow three-person majority in the House and hold 53 seats in the Senate.
In order to move forward it would need at least 290 affirmative votes in the House and 67 in the Senate, both of which are extremely unlikely given Democrats are unlikely to support the amendment as well as some Republicans.
Once passed through Congress, the amendment must be ratified by at least 38 states. There are currently 28 Republican-controlled legislatures, making it very unlikely for the amendment, if it passes, to be ratified by enough states.
The Constitution was last amended in 1992 with the ratification of the 27th Amendment.
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What People Are Saying
Representative Andy Ogles said in a statement announcing his proposal: "[President Trump] has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation's decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal. To that end, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms. This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs."
Mark Shanahan, an American politics expert who teaches at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, previously told Newsweek: "A Constitutional Amendment requires a Supermajority in both houses of Congress. With a small majority in the Senate, and a wafer-thin GOP advantage in the House, this is just wishful thinking on the part of Rep. Ogles. It's a visible way of showing his fealty to the president, but one that highlights that there are still checks on Trump's power."
Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, said in a statement sent to Newsweek: "By now, Donald Trump's pattern is predictable: 'joke' about something unconstitutional or authoritarian; normalize the 'joke'; allow sycophantic Republicans to adopt the 'joke' as a serious idea until it becomes MAGA orthodoxy. Rep. Ogles has followed the playbook perfectly by proposing a constitutional amendment to allow Trump to serve a third term. While I'm grateful that he acknowledges that a third term would require a constitutional amendment, nothing Donald Trump says or does is funny."
The X, formerly Twitter, account "Republicans against Trump" wrote Thursday: "Here we go. Republican Congressman Andy Ogles has drafted a constitutional amendment to allow Donald Trump to be president for a third term."
What Happens Next
The resolution will be referred to a House committee, which will then decide it if should move forward.
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