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Floor Speech

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Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on a matter that should not require clarification.

In the United States of America, no President, Republican or Democrat, serves more than two terms. That is not a suggestion; that is not a tradition; that is the law of the United States, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Yet, once again, President Donald Trump is openly suggesting that he should have a third term.

In an interview with NBC News, he was asked directly about his repeated comments on seeking a third term. This time, he left no room for doubt. He said he was ``not joking'' about a third term--``not joking.''

So let's be clear. This is not the first time Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of clinging to power beyond what the Constitution allows. He has mused about serving 10 or 12 or even 16 years. He has floated the notion of repealing the 22nd Amendment. His supporters have worn T-shirts reading ``Trump 2028.'' His allies have spread the baseless notion that he was ``owed'' extra years because of supposed injustices against him.

Each time, when confronted, his defenders--Members of this very body--have dismissed it as a big joke. But the man himself has now made it clear: He was not joking. So why are congressional Republicans still pretending that he was joking?

Let's review what the Constitution actually says. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, states unequivocally:

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.

No exceptions. No loopholes.

The 12th Amendment makes clear that no one who is constitutionally ineligible to serve as President may be elected as Vice President, closing the door on any scheme where a President resigns to elevate an unelected successor. The law is settled. The case is closed.

The reason we have these protections is simple: America is a republic, not a monarchy. The people's power is enshrined in the peaceful transition of leadership.

George Washington set the precedent of serving only two terms, and after Franklin Roosevelt's unprecedented four terms, both parties, Democrat and Republican, came together to enshrine term limits into law--the George Washington tradition into law. Every President since, Democrats and Republicans alike, has respected this safeguard until right now.

What we are witnessing is the continued erosion of constitutional order, met not with outrage from Republicans but with shrugs and chuckles and excuses. And those who claimed he was joking before now claim he is joking still after he says he is not. That is in violation of his own explicit statement that he is telling the truth. They are not just enabling a man's delusions of infinite power; they are setting the stage for something far more dangerous: The normalization of sedition.

Let me say this plainly: There is nothing funny about sedition. There is nothing amusing about a former President who incited an attack on this Capitol now openly fantasizing about defying the Constitution to remain in office. There is nothing humorous about Members of Congress excusing, enabling, and covering for a man who has already demonstrated his willingness to subvert democracy for his own personal gain.

So, at this moment, I will ask the Senate to take up and pass by unanimous consent my resolution making clear what should already be obvious: That under the 22nd and 12th Amendments to the Constitution, Donald Trump is ineligible in any future election to be elected as Vice President or President of the United States or to serve as President beyond the conclusion of his current term.

This resolution is incredibly simple. It says that ``the Twelfth amendment to the Constitution States that `No person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States'. . . . [T]he Twenty-second amendment . . . states that `No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once.' ''

So, therefore, President ``Trump is ineligible in any future elections to be elected Vice-President or President, or to serve as President beyond the conclusion of his current term.''

That is it. That is the totality of what it says.

This is not a partisan statement; it is a constitutional one. Every Member of this Chamber, regardless of party, should be able to agree: No President is above the law. No President is entitled to more than two terms.

If my colleagues truly believe that it is all in jest, then let's put this to the test. Let's pass the resolution now because if they won't, the cost will be nothing less than the future of our Republic. And that is not a joke.

Res. 154, which is at the desk; further I ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

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