Donald Trump Tells House Republicans He Won't Seek a Third Term Unless They 'Figure' Out a Way to Allow It

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump.Photo:Bill Pugliano/Getty

Bill Pugliano/Getty

President-electDonald Trumptold House Republicans that he won’t seek a third term as president — unless they find a way to make it possible.

“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you say, ‘he’s so good, we’ve got to figure something else,’ " Trump said while addressing the House Republican Conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The crowd chuckled in response to his remark.

According to the22nd Amendmentto the Constitution, no president can serve three full terms. A person can only be elected president twice and cannot serve more than 10 years total, meaning a vice president-turned-president could seek two additional terms if their initial presidency lasted less than two years.

Trump hasmentioned a three-term presidency before. At the National Rifle Association convention in May 2024, the former president referenced the last head of state to serve more than two terms.

“You know, FDR, 16 years — almost 16 years. He was four-term,” Trump said. “I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term or two-term? You tell me.”

The 22nd Amendment was passed in 1947 and ratified in 1951, after Roosevelt’s four-term presidency.

Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden meet in the Oval Office on Nov. 13, 2024.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty

Just before casting his ballot for himself on Nov. 5, the president-elect told reporters outside Mar-a-Lago that his 2024 campaign would likely be his last,The New York Timesreported.

The president-elect will become the 47th U.S. president on Jan. 20, 2025.

source: people.com