President Donald Trump just started his second term, but the idea that he could stick around for another one keeps coming up in Washington.
One Republican lawmaker is already trying to change the Constitution to allow Trump a third term — Rep. Andy Ogles introduced a resolution to alter the 22nd Amendment, a move that has amplified the idea of Republicans keeping their president in office longer than the two-term limit. As recently as Thursday, Trump suggested that the limit is not concrete.
At a time when Trump is reaching for more land and power, the idea of Republicans trying to keep Trump in office even longer doesn’t seem so far-fetched, even if it doesn’t seem to have much traction in Congress.
“I don’t think the question should be whether members of our party feel that [Trump should be president for a third time],” Sen. Lisa Murkowski told NOTUS. “It’s very clearly part of our Constitution that says that presidents are here for two terms. I think that serves our country good, and I don’t know why we need to change that.”
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The resolution does not have any co-sponsors. But to hear Ogles tell it, there’s plenty of support for such a change among his constituents and his colleagues. He says the discussion is worth having because he’s happy with what Trump has done already with issues like immigration.
“I think it’s more about, what does the electorate want?” Ogles told NOTUS in an interview, adding that he thinks if nothing else Republicans will use the resolution as a messaging tool to contrast Trump with former President Joe Biden. “We’ve been letting [the resolution] simmer and letting the grassroots do its job.”
For the Constitution to be altered, Ogles’ resolution would have to be approved by two-thirds of both the House and Senate and ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures. The legislation would bar presidents who have served two consecutive four-year terms from running for a third. The only president to serve more than two terms was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Not all Republicans think that Ogles is completely out on a limb.
“President Trump is off to a great start,” Rep. Robert Aderholt told NOTUS. “I certainly think it’s something we need to look at. My constituency is very happy with what he’s doing right now. I think they would be very much in favor of him serving another term.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and Ogles said he hasn’t had conversations with the White House about his proposal. However, he pointed to past comments by Trump saying he would be interested in serving a third term as an endorsement.
During his Las Vegas rally in January, Trump said it would “be the honor of my life to serve not once but twice — or three or four times.” The idea has come up several times since he was inaugurated and as recently as during his prayer breakfast on Thursday, where he joked again about the possibility of serving a third term.
“They say I can’t run again,” Trump said onstage during the breakfast. “That’s the expression. ‘Sir,’ then somebody said, ‘I don’t think you can.’ Oh.”
Other lawmakers hadn’t heard about Ogles’ proposal or took issue with the idea of a third term.
“I believe that we passed a constitutional amendment to keep two terms,” Sen. Pete Ricketts told NOTUS. “That’s kind of the standard. I think we should leave it that way.”
Rep. John Rutherford agreed.
“I don’t know, I kind of like the eight years,” Rutherford said.
Rep. Tim Burchett, who serves in the Tennessee congressional delegation with Ogles, told NOTUS that he hasn’t read the legislation but is skeptical.
“I’m a big fan of the Constitution and changes to it would be difficult. … So we need to think long and hard about that,” Burchett said.
Even Trump diehards, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, weren’t immediately willing to commit to the idea of a third Trump term.
“I need some time on that one,” she said after NOTUS informed her of the bill by asking whether she would support it.
Ogles said that his resolution will take a back seat until priorities in Congress like the debt ceiling, reconciliation and border issues are addressed.
“There’s a bunch of support,” Ogles said. “But again, we have to prioritize and focus on the task ahead. And that’s what we’re doing.”
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Torrence Banks is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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