Could Trump Serve Three Terms? Scenarios Unfold Amid Rep. Ogles' Push To Change 22nd Amendment

Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, has introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives seeking to amend the Constitution and allow presidents, including Donald Trump, to serve a third term.

The proposed amendment would alter the current 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.

The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, states, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." Proposed in 1947, the amendment was designed to prevent a repeat of President Franklin Roosevelt's unprecedented four terms in office.

Ogles' resolution seeks to revise this language, proposing that presidents could be elected to serve up to three terms.

"'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,'' the proposed amendment stated.

"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," the Congressman said in a statement.

"It is imperative that we provide President Trump with every resource necessary to correct the disastrous course set by the Biden administration. President Trump has shown time and time again that his loyalty lies with the American people and our great nation above all else. He is dedicated to restoring the republic and saving our country, and we, as legislators and as states, must do everything in our power to support him," Ogles added.

His proposal comes just days after Trump was sworn in for a second, non-consecutive term, making him only the second president in U.S. history to achieve such a feat.

The timing of the amendment coincides with a resolution introduced by Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, earlier this year, which reaffirmed that the 22nd Amendment limits presidents to two terms in total, regardless of whether those terms are consecutive, CNBC reported.

However, Ogles' resolution is unlikely to receive widespread support from Democrats, especially with Trump currently in office. Republicans, who hold a slim three-seat majority in the House, may find it difficult to pass the resolution without bipartisan backing.

Roosevelt remains the only president in U.S. history to be elected to more than two terms. He passed away in 1945, less than 90 days after beginning his fourth term.

Trump Open To A Third Term

Over the years, Trump has suggested he may be open to challenging the existing two-term limit on the presidency.

"I suspect I won't be running again, unless you say, 'He's so good we've got to figure something else out,'" Trump reportedly told House Republicans during a private meeting in November, after his win in the presidential elections.

Former Fox News journalist Geraldo Rivera, who has known Trump for decades, predicted last December that Trump and his allies would eventually focus on changing the 22nd Amendment.

"For future reference: President Trump & Co. will soon start chattering about revoking/amending the 22d Amendment, which limits presidents to two four year terms," Rivera posted on X.

In a recent article in The Conversation, Philip Klinkner, a professor at Hamilton College, explained that while the 22nd Amendment stops Trump from being elected president again, it doesn't prevent him from serving as president after January 20, 2029.

"The amendment only blocks someone from being elected more than twice," Klinkner wrote. "It doesn't stop someone from becoming president in other ways," CNBC reported

Klinkner also suggested one possible scenario where Trump runs for vice president in 2028 with JD Vance as the presidential candidate. If they win, Vance could resign, making Trump president again," Klinkner said.

Another scenario Klinker imagined is for Trump to encourage a family member to run for, and win, the White House. Once elected, they would serve as little more than a figurehead president, while Trump made the key decisions.