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By Peter Aitken and Gabe Whisnant
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Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee has introduced a Joint Resolution in Congress seeking to amend the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that would allow President Donald Trump to serve a third term in the White House
Newsweek reached out to Ogles' office and the Trump White House by email for comment on Thursday evening.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has previously joked about running for a third term, something the U.S. Constitution does not allow due to the 22nd Amendment.
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Following his victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Trump told House Republicans, "I suspect I won't be running again, unless you say, 'he's so good, we've got to figure something else." The comment drew outrage from critics on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The 22nd Amendment says: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once."
However, Trump previously told Time magazine he would not support changing the amendment, saying he "wouldn't be in favor of a challenge. Not for me. I wouldn't be in favor of it at all."
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What To Know
Ogles, a Middle Tennessee Republican, has proposed a change to the 22nd Amendment that would allow Trump, and future presidents, to serve up to three terms.
Ogles' House Joint resolution says the following:
"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."
The language specifies preventing a president running for a third term if they were elected for two consecutive terms, precluding any of President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama from seeking a third term were the amendment to occur.
The amendment would therefore singularly benefit either Trump, who is serving his second of two non-consecutive terms, or Vice President JD Vance, who ranks first in the presidential line of succession.
What People Are Saying
Ogles said in a press release accompanying the announcement: "President Trump's decisive leadership stands in stark contrast to the chaos, suffering, and economic decline Americans have endured over the past four years. He 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," Ogles said.
"It is imperative that we provide President Trump with every resource necessary to correct the disastrous course set by the Biden administration. President Trump has shown time and time again that his loyalty lies with the American people and our great nation above all else. He is dedicated to restoring the republic and saving our country, and we, as legislators and as states, must do everything in our power to support him," Ogles added.
Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee, a Democrat and member of the House Judiciary Committee, told Axios: "Two terms is enough chaos for any nation to endure."
Democratic Representative Dan Goldman of New York 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," Goldman said.
Democratic Representative Becca Balint of Vermont, also a member of the judiciary committee, told Axios: "I don't think he wants to talk about the campaign finance fraud that he is accused of and would like us instead to focus on what a committed Trump sycophant he is. Truly pathetic. Voters from Tennessee deserve so much better."
What Happens Next
While Ogles can propose the amendment, the process of actually changing an amendment or passing a new amendment requires monumental national support: The 5th Amendment, which lays out the process, states that two-thirds of both houses of Congress must support the proposal of an amendment or two-thirds of state legislatures must call a convention to propose an amendment.
Should the resolution clear either of those initial hurdles, it would require ratification by the legislatures of three-fourths of states or "by conventions in three-fourths thereof."
Update, 1/23/25 at 8:12 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional context and comments.
Update, 1/23/25 at 9:09 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional Rep. Goldman's statement.
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