Ron DeSantis Renews Congressional Term Limits Push After Senate Health Scares
Ron DeSantis is renewing his call for congressional term limits, using fresh attention on Senate health scares and aging lawmakers to argue that Washington needs forced turnover.
The Florida governor described the U.S. Senate as looking like an “old folks home,” according to Florida Politics, while urging states to support a federal constitutional amendment that would limit how long members of Congress can serve.
The argument lands at a time when age and health have become recurring political flashpoints. The 119th Congress began with senators averaging 63.9 years old, according to the Congressional Research Service. House members averaged 57.9 years old.
But DeSantis’ proposal faces a major constitutional barrier.
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In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton that states cannot add qualifications for members of Congress beyond those listed in the Constitution. The practical effect is straightforward. A state cannot simply pass its own congressional term limits law and apply it to federal lawmakers.
That leaves supporters with the much harder amendment route. Under Article V, Congress can propose an amendment, or 34 states can trigger a convention to propose one. Either way, 38 states would have to ratify it before congressional term limits could become binding nationwide.
Social reaction shows why the issue has renewed political pull. X trend summaries and Reddit discussions around older lawmakers have repeatedly connected health scares to calls for term limits, age caps or stronger health transparency.
The political challenge is that Congress would be asked to limit itself. That makes the issue popular as a campaign message, but difficult to turn into law without a rare, coordinated constitutional push across the states.
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