Did trump try to change laws to run for another term
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Executive summary
Republican Representative Andy Ogles introduced a House resolution in January 2025 proposing to amend the 22nd Amendment so a person could be elected president three times — language he framed explicitly to allow President Trump a third term [1] [2]. Major news outlets and legal explainers note such proposals are common but face steep constitutional hurdles: any amendment requires two‑thirds of both chambers of Congress and ratification by three‑quarters of the states, a practical barrier even with GOP congressional control [3] [4].
1. What was actually proposed — a House member’s amendment, not a presidential law-change
On Jan. 23, 2025 Rep. Ogles publicly proposed changing the Constitution to permit a president to serve three elected terms; his press release states the amendment’s text would let a person be “elected to the office of the President more than three times” and was motivated by allowing “President Trump to serve three terms” [1]. That is a private member’s constitutional amendment proposal filed in the House, not an executive action or ordinary statute [2] [1].
2. Legal reality: how you actually change term limits
The U.S. Constitution can be altered only by the Article V amendment process: a two‑thirds vote in both the House and Senate and ratification by three‑quarters of the state legislatures (or state conventions), a high bar rare in American history (available sources do not mention internal White House maneuvers to circumvent Article V). Constitution Center reporting underscores that dozens of proposed amendments are introduced each Congress but almost none clear those political and procedural thresholds [3].
3. Why proponents framed this around Trump
Ogles’ release explicitly ties the amendment to President Trump, praising his leadership and saying the change would allow him a third elected term; Reuters and other outlets reported the public framing and noted Trump did not dismiss speculation about seeking a third term and has left open legal questions about challenging the two‑term limit [1] [5]. The move is politically transactional: a member of Congress introducing sympathetic language aimed at a specific incumbent, which signals party loyalty more than a plausible legislative trajectory [1] [3].
4. Political obstacles even with GOP control of Congress
Although Republicans controlled both chambers in 2025, multiple sources stress that control alone is insufficient: amendment passage requires two‑thirds majorities, not mere simple majorities, and then ratification by 38 states — a threshold commentators say is unlikely to be met [4] [3]. Reuters’ explainer and the BBC both note that some Republican senators publicly declined to back changing the 22nd Amendment [4].
5. Frequency and context of amendment proposals
Congress routinely sees thousands of proposed amendments; most never advance out of committee. The Constitution Center put the Ogles proposal in that broader context, pointing out that filing an amendment is common and that very few proposals ever reach state ratification [3]. This pattern signals that filing an amendment, even one tied to a sitting president, is a low‑probability path to actually changing the law.
6. Competing viewpoints and implicit agendas
Supporters framed the proposal as restoring “bold leadership” and correcting what they see as an artificial constraint on democratic choice [1]. Opponents and neutral analysts treat it as an attempt to tailor constitutional rules to a single person — an implicit agenda to extend the political prospects of President Trump — and caution that constitutional amendments for partisan advantage risk long‑term institutional damage [3] [4].
7. What the reporting does not say
Available sources do not mention any successful legislative steps beyond the publicity release — no two‑thirds floor votes, no Senate sponsorship securing supermajorities, and no movement toward state ratification is reported (available sources do not mention such developments). Sources also do not report any executive order or unilateral White House action that could lawfully alter the 22nd Amendment outside the Article V process (available sources do not mention executive means to change the Amendment).
8. Bottom line — attempted initiative, not a changed law
A member of Congress formally proposed amending the 22nd Amendment to permit a third elected term and explicitly tied that proposal to President Trump [1] [2]. Constitutional experts and reporting make clear the proposal faces steep procedural and political obstacles; introduction does not equal change, and as of these reports the amendment remains a proposal among many and not a successful alteration of the law [3] [4].