Politics
A third term for President Trump? The new Republican Bill amendment seeking to keep him in power
GOP lawmakers have wasted little time in looking to extend the Trump presidency, introducing a resolution to alter the US Constitution.
President Donald Trump could run for a third term in office if an ambitious new resolution tabled in the House of Representatives is passed. It would allow Trump to become the first three-term president but it will require two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate, a near-impossibility.
Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee submitted the proposal and told the House that 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.”
“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,” the second-term Congressman continued. “I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms.”
This suggestion, coming just a week into Trump’s second term in office, has clear partisan undertones. But Ogles isn’t the first person to suggest something similar. Former President Bill Clinton has previously suggested that presidents should be able to serve a third term in office, provided that they take a break after their second.
Could other presidents serve a third term?
An extension to presidential term limits could bring with it a complete reshape of the American political landscape. Could Barack Obama make a comeback and reignite the Democrats? Could George W. Bush return to take on Trump for the Republican nomination? According to the wording of Ogles' amendment, no.
The Tennessee lawmaker’s resolution is carefully limited to only allow Trump, whose two terms in office were non-consecutive, to serve a third.
The amendment reads: ″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.“ This would mean that Bush and Obama, as well as Bill Clinton, would be barred from being elected for a third term.
For his part, Trump has previously said that he would not support a change to the 22nd Amendment, insisting 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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