Ted Cruz wants to impose term limits on himself

On Friday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced an amendment to the Constitution. If passed, it would become the 28th Amendment.

The proposed amendment calls for term limits on members of Congress, including three two-year terms as the limit for Representatives in the House and two six-year terms for Senators. Cruz is currently in his second term, making it his last if his own amendment passes. Some believe that Cruz supports the amendment because of his low popularity in his own state, and wants to leave the Senate with honor, not because he loses an election.

Cruz proposed a similar bill two years ago, but it failed.

Other co-sponsors to the bill include Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Senator David Purdue (R-Georgia).

Currently, there are no term limits for elected positions in Congress.

Although operatives on both sides of the aisle believe that this bill passing is next to impossible, they think there is a way to pass it: to grandfather it.

Grandfather-ing is when Congress passes a law that only comes into effect thirty or forty years after the bill is passed. This way, members of Congress wouldn’t have to worry about it in their own time, but their vision could come into effect once it no longer affects them.

A Grandfather Clause is plausible in this case, and if the four Senators sponsoring it want to see it pass, it might be their only option.