Mitch McConnell, Poster Child for Term Limits

Congress cannot impose ordinary statutory term limits on its members under current Supreme Court precedent. The Constitution sets the qualifications for service in the House and Senate, and a binding national limit would generally require a constitutional amendment. Voters can still remove incumbents at elections, and Congress can adopt rules that affect leadership, committees, and internal accountability.

What the Constitution currently requires

Article I of the Constitution establishes age, citizenship, and residency qualifications for representatives and senators. The Seventeenth Amendment provides for the direct election of senators but does not limit the number of terms a person may serve.

What the Supreme Court decided

In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, the Supreme Court held that states cannot add qualifications for congressional service beyond those in the Constitution. Arkansas therefore could not use state law to keep otherwise qualified long-serving candidates off the ballot. The ruling also makes a federal statute imposing additional service qualifications constitutionally doubtful.

How congressional term limits could be adopted

A constitutional amendment may be proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress or through a convention called after applications from two-thirds of state legislatures. Ratification then requires three-fourths of the states. Proposals must also answer practical questions: the number of permitted terms, whether prior service counts, treatment of partial terms, and when limits begin.

Accountability arguments on both sides

Supporters argue that limits could reduce entrenchment, encourage political competition, and weaken the advantages of incumbency. Opponents argue that elections already provide term limits, that experience helps Congress oversee complex agencies, and that forced turnover may shift influence toward permanent staff and lobbyists.

Other reforms do not require ending a member’s eligibility to serve. Congress and the parties can limit committee-chair tenure, improve financial disclosure, strengthen ethics enforcement, change leadership rules, and make elections more competitive.

Related DDSA commentary includes Kevin McCarthy and congressional leadership and debates over constitutional institutions.

Legal note: this article provides general educational commentary, not legal advice.