A Republican congressman is campaigning to change the US constitution to allow Donald Trump to run for a third presidential term.
Andy Ogles, of Tennessee, a member of the conservative Tea Party Caucus, has tabled a bill that would rewrite the 22nd Amendment, which bars presidents from running for the White House more than twice.
Mr Trump has in the past suggested that he deserves a third term.
At a 2020 election rally, he said he should be allowed an additional four years because the Democrats “spied on my campaign”.
More recently, he suggested he could spend more time in office because of voter demand.
“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you say, ‘He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out’,” Mr Trump told a group of Republicans.
Andy Ogles wants to see a change to the US constitution to let Donald Trump run for a third term – Ting Shen/Bloomberg
Were the change to be approved, Mr Trump would be 82 if he won a third term – the same age as Joe Biden.
Given that the measure would require the support of two thirds of both the Senate and House of Representatives, it has effectively no chance of becoming law.
In reality, it is a gesture of loyalty to Mr Trump by Mr Ogles, whose last legislative initiative was the liberty in laundry act, banning the department of energy imposing conservation standards on laundries, which was passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
“President Trump’s decisive leadership stands in stark contrast to the chaos, suffering and economic decline Americans have endured over the past four years,“ Congressman Ogles said.
“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.
“It is imperative that we provide President Trump with every resource necessary to correct the disastrous course set by the Biden administration.”
Franklin D Roosevelt, who won the 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944 elections – dying three months into his fourth term in office – is the only president to serve more than twice. The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951.
Constitutional experts pointed out that while Mr Trump could not run for the White House again, there were loopholes which could enable him to serve a third term, given the Byzantine laws of succession to the presidency in the US constitution.
“There are a number of mechanisms through which a non-elected person does become president or acts as president,” Bruce Peabody, professor of government and politics at New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson University told The Telegraph.
“He could be JD Vance’s vice-president next time around, and he becomes president again.
“Mr Vance would have to be on board, recognising that he would have to step aside. So that’s definitely a scenario. I think it is at least legally possible.
“Another idea is that the constitution does allow Congress to create laws that will designate successors in the event that the elected president and vice-president are unavailable.”
Currently, the next in line is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after which is a line of elected officials.
“It’s not crazy to say that it would be just as reasonable to have a twice-elected president on the list,” Prof Peabody said.
“We can imagine Congress deciding that it might be a good idea to have executive office experience in such a crisis.”
Kermit Roosevelt, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and great-great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, was also sceptical.
“I don’t think there’s any realistic possibility that the 22nd Amendment could be repealed,” he said
