A House Republican has introduced a joint resolution in Congress designed to allow President Donald Trump “to serve a third term,” while including a caveat that would prevent Barack Obama from running again for the White House.
The proposal was introduced on Thursday by Representative Andy Ogles from Tennessee, who said: “This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs.” The 22nd Amendment imposed a two-term limit per person on the presidency.
Newsweek contacted Barack Obama via the Obama Foundation, the White House press office and Rep. Ogles for comment via email on Friday outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Trump joked about running for a third term during an address to House Republicans shortly after his November election win, when he said: “I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you do something.”
During the election campaign Democrats focused heavily on the threat they argued Trump posed to American democracy, with Kamala Harris claiming the Republican nominee “certainly falls into the general definition of fascists.” If Trump openly supports a constitutional amendment allowing him to run for a third term these concerns would be elevated, though a section of his base would likely back the move.
What to Know
Ogles’ resolution would alter the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment to read: “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.”
Donald Trump at the White House on January 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (left), and Barack Obama on December 5, 2024, in Chicago.
Anna Moneymaker/Scott Olson/GETTY
Axios Congress reporter Andrew Solender noted this would allow Trump to run for a third term, but not Obama, George W. Bush or Bill Clinton, all of whom have already been “elected to two consecutive terms.”
In April 2024, Trump told Time Magazine he wouldn’t support a constitutional amendment allowing him to run for a third term. The Republican firebrand said: “I wouldn’t be in favor of a challenge. Not for me. I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job. And I want to bring our country back. I want to put it back on the right track.”
A YouGov survey conducted August 9-12, 2024, found 53 percent of Americans said they would have been either “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to vote for Obama if he’d been on the 2024 presidential ballot.
What People Are Saying
Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Shanahan, an American politics expert who teaches at the University of Surrey in the U.K., said: “The first week of the second Trump presidency has already been a time of high action and high drama and it’s no great surprise that a Republican Representative, fuelled by the heady fumes of Executive and Congressional power, should propose an amendment to the Constitution to allow Donald Trump to run for a third term in the White House.
“Heady stuff, but with no chance of success. A Constitutional Amendment requires a Supermajority in both houses of Congress. With a small majority in the Senate, and a wafer-thin GOP advantage in the House, this is just wishful thinking on the part of Rep. Ogles. It’s a visible way of showing his fealty to the president, but one that highlights that there are still checks on Trump’s power.”
Ogles commented: “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.”
In a post on X, independent journalist Gretchen Carlson said: “Rep. Ogles (R-TN) has drafted a constitutional amendment that, if ratified, would allow Donald Trump to run for a 3rd term. But the measure would prevent former Pres” Obama, Bush & Clinton from returning to the Oval Office.”
What Happens Next
To amend the Constitution a proposal must receive a two-thirds majority vote from both chambers of Congress, or the support of two-thirds of state legislatures via a national convention. Ratification then requires the backing of three-fourths of state legislatures or state special conventions. Given the Republicans’ narrow majority in both the House and Senate, Ogles’ resolution is extremely unlikely to change the Constitution and the two-term limit is likely here to stay.
