U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs in the Oval Office of the White House on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty images
A newly introduced constitutional amendment that would allow President Donald Trump to be elected to a third term in the White House faces a very long chance – at best – of approval Friday, a Harvard Law School professor said .
Professor Stephen Sachs said the mathematics and politics of such a proposal were almost certain to double it.
Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, introduced a House resolution Thursday calling for amending the U.S. Constitution, whose 22nd Amendment currently limits presidents to two chosen terms.
Ogles' proposed tweak was tailor-made for his fellow Republican Trump, as he can only be elected to a third term if their first two terms were non-consecutive.
Trump is the only currently living president elected on unpopulated terms.
Despite the high constitutional vengeance of being elected to a third term, Trump has hinted he may seek one.
Trump “has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation's decline and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to achieve that goal,” said Ogles in a statement Thursday about his change.
Sachs, who is the Antonin Scalia Professor of Law at Harvard Law, threw cold water on the idea that Ogles' resolution survived a vote in Congress – let alone among the states needed to ratify such an amendment.
Stephen Sachs, Antonin Scalia Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
Courtesy: Harvard Law School
Sachs told CNBC it would be “very difficult” to pass an amendment to the Constitution.
“Article V of the Constitution requires both the House and Senate to approve a proposed amendment by a two-thirds vote,” Sachs said.
That means 290 “yeses” from 435 House members and 67 of the 100 senators.
Once approved by Congress, “the proposal must be ratified in three-quarters of the states either through state legislatures or state conventions – the choice rests with Congress,” Sachs added.
This would mean gaining approval in 38 states.
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As hard as it is to pass a constitutional amendment, even one that enjoys broad public support, Ogles' proposal would face an even higher bar.
It's “incredibly difficult, assuming it doesn't get any Democratic votes in Congress or in the state legislatures, or very few,” Sachs said.
“To date, there are only 218 Republican representatives, 53 Republican senators and 28 Republican state legislatures,” Sachs said.
Ogles' proposal has “attracted a lot more attention than its chances of passage,” Sachs said.
Asked whether he thought there would be an appetite in Congress or the states for an amendment that would allow a third elected term for presidents who have already served two consecutive terms, Sachs was blunt: “No.”
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.
Anna Rose Layden | Reuters
The White House has not responded to CNBC's inquiries about whether Trump supports Ogles' change.
The last time the Constitution was amended was in 1992, when the 27th Amendment was ratified.
These amendments pay for members of Congress and will take effect for House members until after an election.
This change was proposed in 1789 by then-Rep. But James Madison during the first Congress lay two centuries away until a student in 1982 realized that it was still eligible for ratification.
Before that, the 26th Amendment was passed in 1971, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote.
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