WASHINGTON — A Republican Tennessee Congressman proposed an amendment to the United States Constitution that would allow President Donald Trump to serve a third term.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) proposed the amendment in hopes of sustaining “the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs.”
The amendment reads as follows:
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.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama would not be able to serve a third term because they served two consecutive terms. President Trump is the second president to be elected to a non-consecutive term. Grover Cleveland in 1892 was the first.
The president has previously hinted at his willingness to serve more than two terms.
“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you say, ‘He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out,’” Trump reportedly told House Republicans during a private meeting in November, according to CNBC.
An amendment to the Constitution must receive a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate. If that is done, three-fourths of states – 38 states – must ratify the amendment for it to be added to the Constitution.
Mark O’Gorman, a political science professor at Maryville College, said he sees the proposal “as much symbolic as it is actual.”
“The symbolism is kind to continue what we’ve seen this week, rolling out of the Trump Administration,” he said. “Lot more symbolism — the reality is very different.”
He said he did not think there was much of a chance that the proposal would pass and allow President Trump a third term in office.
“There’s always a chance, but I’d say we’re closer to Powerball odds than regular odds,” he said. “They would literally have to get half the Democrats to come over to their side to approve this amendment, and I’m feeling pretty confident the Democrats are not gonna budge.”
He said a supermajority would need to approve the proposal in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, he said Republicans have too narrow a majority in both to approve the amendment. He also said there is an option for state legislatures to step forth and approve the amendment, but he also said it would prove difficult for it to succeed on that path.
Currently, the 22nd Amendment limits those elected president to two terms. The amendment was ratified on Feb. 27, 1951, following President Franklin Roosevelt’s unprecedented fourth term in the White House. Minnesota was the 36th and final state to approve the constitutional change after nearly four full years of deliberation. There were only 48 states in the U.S. at the time.
George Washington voluntarily stepped down from office after two terms and created an unofficial tradition for future presidents. Every president after Washington served two terms until Roosevelt. He is the only American president to have served more than two terms. He died in office, less than 90 days after his fourth inauguration.