Term limits have been a topic of discussion, with a majority of adults supporting limits on the number of terms for members of Congress.
Despite this support, a bill proposing term limits was rejected by a House committee, with some Republicans and all Democrats voting against it.
Opponents of term limits argue that elections already serve as term limits and that forcibly removing lawmakers is undemocratic.
Rep. Harriet Hageman wrote, “Haven’t we learned from Democrat stunts against President Trump that it’s a terrible idea to undemocratically remove candidates from the ballot for arbitrary reasons? Term limits would deny voters a choice they may want to make.”
“Also, in a time when unelected career federal bureaucrats are wielding more power than ever before, using regulations to carry out the agenda of radical, leftist, environmental extremists, why would we make them even more powerful by forcibly removing members of Congress who know how to fight against them?” she continued.
“We already have term limits, although we call them elections, and in the House we have them every two years,” added Hageman.
“You only have to look at the seat that I currently hold for the people of Wyoming to see that if voters are dissatisfied, they can always change horses. I’ve held more than 50 town halls across Wyoming since 2022, and when this topic comes up, I always very clearly explain why I’m opposed to term limits. Voters know where I stand,” she declared.
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald said, “In the House, Members of Congress are elected for two-year terms and that ensures representation is always aligned with the constituency.”
The debate continues, with plans to reintroduce similar legislation in the future.
Rep. Ralph Norman said, “Some said they didn’t like the three and two, in other words, three terms in the House for six years and the [two terms for] 12 years in the Senate, and others just said they were against it.”
“At the end of the day, we have got to do something about people, you know, coming up to Congress and just living and not going back home and living under some of these disastrous legislations that they’re passing,” he explained.
“It’s important for Americans to see who is fighting and voting against term limits versus those who are in favor of it. This is a very important vote to highlight to the American people. It’s an 80/20 issue – 80% of the public favors term limits, 20% don’t. They know the consequences if they vote against this kind of bill,” he added.
“I’m optimistic we’ll get it as soon as we get a new president,” declared Norman.
Some argue that term limits are necessary to prevent long-term incumbency and promote accountability.
Rep. Victoria Spartz said, “Unfortunately, our Constitution has been distorted since our founding times with an enormous growth of the federal government.”
“Therefore, term limits should be considered as one of the solutions. However, most politicians are just talking heads and are afraid to put their money where their mouth is, so the term limits bill conveniently failed in the committee,” she added.
