Should Congress Have Term Limits?

Parallax News presents big debates broken down into multiple perspectives.

Donald Trump, as part of his extensive plan to “drain the swamp” of D.C. corruption, has vowed to fight for congressional term limits, an old idea that is still favored by 75% of Americans. “They’ve been talking about [term limits] for years,” Trump said in a speech last week. “Decades of failure in Washington and decades of special interest dealing must and will come to an end.” Trump’s proposal would restrict the maximum time in office to 12 years for senators and 6 years for House representatives. As it stands there are no limits, and the longest serving member of Congress has been there for more than 50 years.

I. Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson, Libertarian presidential candidate, is a strong proponent of congressional term limits. He sees them as consistent with the tradition of George Washington, who voluntarily stepped down after his second term. According to Johnson, “career politicians” are focused on re-election rather than crafting helpful policies. Because they depend on public service as their main source of wealth, Johnson says these lawmakers are also more susceptible to influence by lobbyists and special interests. These powerful groups often use money and influence to sway voters and stack Congress with malleable individuals. Johnson notes that the problem of long stints in Congress has worsened over the years. At the start of the 1900s, senators and representatives served only an average of 6.5 and 3.5 years, respectively. Now, the averages are 11 and 9 years.

II. Lee Drutman

Lee Drutman is an expert on political reform at New America, a non-partisan think tank. He is critical of Trump’s proposal for congressional term limits, believing that it is based on backwards reasoning. Drutman argues that new lawmakers are less able to resist lobbyists and special interests who have mastered the complex legislative system. Studies have been done in the 15 states where term limits are in place at the state level, Drutman notes, and the results are not encouraging. The consensus among researchers is that having more newcomers actually hamstrings the legislative branch and prevents it from passing laws and performing other vital functions. This effectively reduces a crucial check on executive power. At the state level, this shifts power to governors. If implemented at the national level, it would cede more power to the presidency.

III. Amber Phillips

Amber Phillips is a political reporter for the Washington Post. She argues that, regardless of the potential effects of congressional term limits, they almost certainly won’t be implemented. Phillips notes that the Supreme Court has previously ruled that laws aiming to establish term limits are unconstitutional. Therefore, the only way to realize them would be to amend the Constitution. Phillips points out that this would require a two-thirds supermajority vote in Congress, as well as ratification by at least 38, or three-fourths, of the 50 states. Following the passage of the Bill of Rights, this extremely high threshold has only been met 17 times in 225 years. Clearing this hurdle is further complicated, Phillips says, considering that it requires lawmakers to vote for something that, in many cases, could go against their own, personal interests.

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Further Reading: Washington Times / Vox / Washington Post

This brief was written by Jared Metzker.

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