Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has disclosed his discussions with former President Trump regarding the constitutional barriers that would prevent Trump from pursuing a third presidential term. Johnson indicated that he does not foresee a viable route for Trump to secure another term after 2028.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Johnson noted, “It’s been an impressive journey, but I believe the former president is aware of the constitutional constraints, something we’ve discussed extensively, despite the disappointment it may bring to many Americans.”
Johnson highlighted the popularity of the “Trump 2028” campaign slogan, referring to it as one of the most successful ever created.
However, he emphasized the significance of the 22nd Amendment, which restricts any individual from being elected president more than twice.
“I don’t see a feasible way to amend the Constitution,” Johnson remarked. “It typically requires about a decade to gain the necessary approval from all the states.”
To amend the Constitution, an amendment must garner the support of two-thirds of both the House and the Senate and then be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
“I don’t see the path for that,” Johnson said.
Trump has repeatedly said he would like to serve a third term, and talk of him doing so ramped up this week after former Trump adviser Steve Bannon told The Economist that there is “a plan” to make Trump president again despite the limitations of the 22nd Amendment, while declining to say what that plan is.
Trump on Air Force One early Monday said he would not attempt one supposed loophole: running as vice president, with the person atop the ticket stepping down after winning, clearing the path for Trump to take over. But he would not rule out seeking a third term and said he “would love to do it.”
Johnson said he had spoken to Trump about an hour before, as the president was in Japan.
Johnson said Trump “has a good time with that, trolling the Democrats, whose hair is on fire about the very prospect” of him trying to seek a third term in 2028.
“But I do believe that we got three extraordinary years ahead of us,” Johnson added, saying Trump’s administration will be an “incredible thing.”
Johnson has previously said Trump who once asked the Speaker on stage if he would be allowed to seek a third term was joking about a third term, and that he knows the constitutional limitations.
But Trump previously told NBC he is “not joking” about a third term, and there are official efforts underway to support that bid.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) has proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow Trump to seek a third term. It was carefully worded to only allow a president who has served two nonconsecutive terms to seek a third one, thus preventing former Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton from mounting a return. But as Johnson noted, it’s politically impossible for that to be ratified by 2028.
Some outside Congress are pitching other methods. The Third Term Project — an initiative spearheaded by Republicans for National Renewal, which describes itself as a nationalist and populist group has mentioned the idea of Trump running as vice president, or even a legal challenge in an attempt to get the Supreme Court’s conservative justices to decide that the 22nd Amendment allows the president to serve more than two terms as long as they are nonconsecutive.
A excerpt from a forthcoming paper from the group, first shared with The Hill, aims to build political support for such a push. It argues the level of consequence former President Franklin D. Roosevelt achieved “would have been all but impossible” had he served only two terms. Congress approved the 22nd Amendment in 1947, two years after Roosevelt’s death midway through his fourth term.
“Should America be blessed with a truly noble and exceptional leader who goes on to occupy the Oval Office, would it be wiser to allow him a flexible timeline with which to serve this nation to the fullest extent of his capabilities?” the group says.
