Yes, Trump has said he supports term limits for members of Congress, a position he first campaigned on in 2016 and has repeated since. But support from a President carries little legal weight here, because only a constitutional amendment can force sitting lawmakers out after a set number of terms, and Congress has never sent one to the states. The idea remains popular with voters but stuck in the same place it has been for three decades.

What has Trump said about congressional term limits?

Trump has publicly backed term limits for members of Congress since his first run for office, calling for a cap of 12 years combined service in the House and Senate. This was part of his 2016 "Drain the Swamp" platform and appeared in his first 100-day action plan, which proposed a constitutional amendment to impose the limit.

As tracked by Ballotpedia, the proposal never advanced in Congress during his first term, and it has not become a formal legislative priority during his second term either. Trump has mentioned the idea again in speeches and interviews, often paired with complaints about long-serving lawmakers, but his administration has focused its legislative energy on budget fights, immigration enforcement, and judicial nominations rather than a term limits amendment.

Supporting an idea publicly is different from getting it passed. A President cannot create term limits through an executive order, because the Constitution's amendment process is controlled entirely by Congress and the states, not the White House. That distinction matters for anyone trying to understand why this proposal keeps coming up every election cycle without ever becoming law.

Can a two-term President run for vice President?

Most constitutional scholars say no, a two-term President cannot legally run for or serve as Vice President. The 22nd Amendment bars anyone from being elected President more than twice, and the 12th Amendment separately says no one "constitutionally ineligible" to be President can serve as Vice President either.

This question has come up repeatedly as speculation about future tickets circulates, including talk about whether a term-limited President could run as a running mate and later move up if the elected President left office. The two amendments read together strongly suggest this path is blocked, but the Supreme Court has never ruled directly on the question because no one has actually tried it.

Some legal commentators argue a narrow reading could leave a loophole, since the 12th Amendment's language is open to interpretation. But this remains a theoretical debate rather than settled law, and any attempt would almost certainly trigger an immediate court challenge.

Can governors run for a third term?

It depends entirely on the state, since governors' term limits are set by state constitutions, not federal law. Roughly three dozen states limit how long a governor can serve, usually to two consecutive terms, while a smaller group of states place no limit on gubernatorial service at all.

California voters, for example, approved a two-term limit for governor in 1990. Virginia has long barred governors from serving consecutive terms, though a former governor can run again after sitting out a term. By contrast, states like New York and Texas place no limit on how many terms a governor can serve.

|State|Governor term limit|

|---|---|

|California|Two terms total|

|Virginia|One term, then must sit out before running again|

|New York|No limit|

|Texas|No limit|

|Michigan|Two terms total|

This state-by-state patchwork is often cited by term limits supporters as proof the idea works in practice. Critics counter that voters can already remove governors or members of Congress at the ballot box, making formal limits unnecessary.

How to get congressional term limits?

The only legal way to impose congressional term limits is a constitutional amendment, because the Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that states cannot do it on their own. In U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton, the Court struck down an Arkansas law that tried to limit how many terms the state's own members of Congress could serve, finding that states cannot add qualifications beyond what the Constitution already lists.

That leaves one path, and it is a steep one. Amending the Constitution requires broad agreement across the federal government and the states, not a single vote in Congress.

1. A proposed amendment is introduced in the House or Senate, often reintroduced every new Congress without passing.

1. It needs a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to move forward, far more than a simple majority.

1. Alternatively, two-thirds of state legislatures can call a constitutional convention to propose amendments, a path never successfully used for this purpose.

1. Once proposed, three-fourths of the states, meaning 38 of 50, must ratify the amendment for it to take effect.

No term limits amendment has ever cleared the first hurdle of a two-thirds vote in both chambers. The last successful constitutional amendment of any kind was the 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, and it dealt with congressional pay, not term limits. Lawmakers routinely punt on major priorities even without the extra burden of a two-thirds threshold, which helps explain why this idea has stalled for so long.

Why haven't congressional term limits passed before?

Congressional term limits have failed mainly because the people who would have to vote for them are the same people the limits would remove. Asking a sitting member of Congress to vote for a rule that ends their own career, or their party's long-serving leaders, creates an obvious conflict of interest.

The idea has bipartisan poll support but little bipartisan legislative muscle. Term limits were part of the Republican Party's 1994 "Contract with America," and a vote on a term limits amendment did reach the House floor in 1995, but it fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Since then, versions of the bill have been reintroduced almost every session, including by lawmakers like Senator Ted Cruz, without ever getting another floor vote.

Seniority also plays a practical role. Committee chairs, party leaders, and senior staff relationships take years to build, and both parties rely on experienced members to run the chamber and negotiate budgets. This is part of why debates over the federal budget and government funding deadlines tend to lean heavily on long-serving appropriators rather than newer members.

Unlike the President, who faces a hard two-term cap under the 22nd Amendment, or Supreme Court justices, whose lifetime appointments were designed to insulate them from politics, members of Congress answer only to voters every two or six years. Supporters of term limits argue that is not enough of a check; opponents argue it already is.

What does this mean for voters in 2026?

For now, nothing changes about how long a member of Congress can serve, no matter what the President says in a speech. Voters remain the only real term limit in practice, deciding every election cycle whether to re-elect an incumbent or replace them.

This status can shift quickly if public pressure builds or if a party makes it a core campaign promise again, similar to 1994. Readers can track whether any term limits resolution gains traction by watching committee votes and the congressional calendar for scheduled floor action, since most such proposals die quietly in committee without ever getting a recorded vote.

As of October 2026, no term limits amendment is close to the two-thirds threshold in either chamber, and the issue has taken a back seat to budget negotiations, immigration policy, and election-year politics. This situation can change, so readers should check official congressional records for the latest status of any specific bill.

Frequently asked questions

Has any other President supported congressional term limits?

Yes, the idea has bipartisan roots. President Reagan spoke favorably of limiting congressional service, and the 1994 Contract with America, backed by House Republicans, made term limits a central promise, though the resulting 1995 vote failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed.

Is there a term limits bill currently in Congress?

Versions of a term limits constitutional amendment are typically reintroduced every two-year congressional session, often by the same small group of lawmakers. As of October 2026, no such bill has advanced out of committee or received a floor vote, and readers should check Congress.gov for the current status.

Do term limits apply to Supreme Court justices?

No, Supreme Court justices serve lifetime appointments under Article III of the Constitution, a separate structure from elected offices. Changing that would also require a constitutional amendment, and it is a distinct debate from congressional term limits.

What was the 27th Amendment and is it related to term limits?

The 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, deals with congressional pay raises, not term limits. It's often mentioned alongside term limits discussions simply because it's the most recent successful constitutional amendment, showing how rare new amendments are.

Could a state convention force term limits without Congress?

In theory, two-thirds of state legislatures could call a convention to propose amendments, bypassing Congress entirely. This method has never been used successfully for any amendment in U.S. history and carries significant legal and political uncertainty.