Rep. Andy Ogles, R.-Tenn., is the latest House Republican to make a splashy grab for President Donald Trump’s attention, introducing a proposal to amend the Constitution and allow the 78-year-old to try for a third term.
In a statement, Ogles claimed Trump “must be given the time necessary” to enact his legislation and praised the president as the “only figure in modern history” who could properly lead the country.
“This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs,” Ogles said.
His plan would modify the 22nd Amendment – ratified in 1951 after Franklin Delano Roosevelt won four consecutive terms by wide margins – to allow a president to serve up to three four-year stints in the White House. The proposal is not quite as sycophantic as Florida Rep. Greg Steube's proposal last year to rename the U.S. coastline after Trump, though it's a somewhat transparent ploy for presidential attention.
The amendment is also carefully crafted to leave Trump open for a third term while excluding Barack Obama, mandating no eligibility for a third term if a president was “elected to two consecutive terms.”
Back in November, Trump told House GOP representatives that he wouldn’t be running again “unless you do something,” a cue Ogles seemingly took literally despite reported laughter from his colleagues.
Still, any amendment to the Constitution faces tremendous obstacles. Ogles’ bill is nearly certain not to receive the needed two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of states, but it could land him on Trump’s radar.
The Tennessee representative might soon need a lifeline as George Santos-esque campaign finance fraud and resume falsification allegations face congressional scrutiny. A January Congressional Ethics report urged further review after concluding Ogles “may have omitted or misrepresented required information in his financial disclosure statements.”
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