House Speaker Mike Johnson gave a blunt reality check Tuesday to President Trump’s musings about pursuing a third term in the White House, telling reporters that amending the Constitution to allow such an effort would be a “high bar” to clear.
“There’s a constitutional path. You have to amend the Constitution to do it, and that’s a high bar,” Johnson said when asked if Trump, 78, had an avenue to become the 48th president in addition to the 45th and 47th.
“The president and I have talked about this, joked about it. He’s joked about it with me on stage before,” added Johnson, 53. “You know, we take him at his word.”
The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, clearly states that “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
An amendment to the Constitution must be approved by two-thirds of each chamber of Congress as well as three-quarters (38) of the 50 state legislatures.
Alternately, 34 of the state legislatures can request Congress call a national convention to propose amendments, which must then be ratified by 38 states or more.
Neither scenario is likely due to Republicans holding narrow majorities in both the House and Senate.
The most recent amendment, the 27th, was ratified in 1992 and requires an intervening election before any congressional pay increase can take effect.
Trump has routinely joked about seeking a third term, but suggested over the weekend he was seriously considering the idea as well
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump told NBC News. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration. … I’m focused on the current.”
“I’m not joking,” the 47th president added. “But I’m not — it is far too early to think about it.”
Some allies of the president have floated the possibility of him exploiting a succession loophole in the 22nd Amendment.
While the 12th Amendment stipulates that “no person constitutionally ineligible” for the presidency can serve as vice president, there no such barriers elsewhere in the line of succession.
In theory, Trump could become speaker of the House, second in line to the presidency, in January 2029 then roar back into the White House if a Republican president and vice president agree to step down.
Hardcore MAGA disciples such as Steve Bannon have urged Trump to seek a third term despite the constitutional hurdles.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) previously introduced a constitutional amendment to allow presidents to seek office for a third term as long as they were not re-elected at the first attempt — a pitch that would render former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama ineligible to return to the White House.
Trump is the second president elected to two nonconsecutive terms, following Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892.
“I understand why so many Americans do wish he could run for a third term,” said Johnson, whose Senate counterpart also moved to quash the controversy this week.
“Not without a change in the Constitution,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters Monday. “You guys keep asking the question, and I think he’s probably having some fun with it, probably messing with you.”
The only president to serve more than two terms is Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected to four terms but died in April 1945, fewer than three months after his final swearing-in.
Former President Ronald Reagan also pushed unsuccessfully to abolish the 22nd Amendment, arguing that Americans should have the right to “vote for someone as often as they want to do.”
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