A Republican House member has introduced a bill aiming to allow US President Donald Trump to run for a third term.
Representative Andy Ogles initiated the resolution on Thursday.
The US Constitution currently prohibits anyone from being elected to the office of president more than twice.
Ogles’ resolution seeks to amend this to state: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times…”
According to Ogles, Trump “has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decline and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to achieve that goal.”
“It is essential that we provide President Trump with every resource required to rectify the disastrous path set by the Biden administration,” Ogles stated.
“He is committed to restoring the republic and salvaging our country, and we, as legislators and as states, must do everything in our power to support him.
“I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to change the restrictions imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms.”
Although Trump previously dismissed suggestions of seeking a third term, he playfully hinted at the possibility after winning the 2024 presidential election in a conversation with Republican lawmakers.
“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you do something,” Trump remarked. “Unless you say, ‘he’s so good, we have to just figure it out.’”
Ogles commended Trump’s series of executive orders signed on the first day of his potential second term, addressing issues such as the southern border, defining gender identities as male and female, energy production, and withdrawing from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The 22nd Amendment was proposed in 1947 and ratified in 1951, designed to prevent a recurrence of Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency. Roosevelt ran for office four times (1933-1945) and passed away less than 90 days after his fourth inauguration in 1945.
In response, Americans embraced George Washington’s principle that any president serving more than two terms could lead to a self-serving ruler akin to a king or dictator.
Washington, a Founding Father of the United States, was the nation’s first president.
Currently, Republicans hold a three-seat majority in the US House of Representatives.
