Senate Republicans are at odds over term limits following Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) announcement that he will not be seeking another term.
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Senate Republicans currently have three full two-year term limits implemented for top leadership, with the exception of the party leader.
Amid speculation over his successor, lawmakers are debating whether they should enact term limits.
The topic was first brought up by Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx.), who is running to replace McConnell along with Minority Whip Senator John Thune (R-S.D.).
One reason I am running to be the next Republican Leader is because I believe the Senate needs more engagement from all of my colleagues, and that includes the opportunity for any Member to serve in Leadership. I will support a conference vote to change the rules and institute…
In response to the suggestion, McConnell said term limits would be “totally inappropriate.”
“We have term limits now, they’re called elections,” McConnell said. “I had a contest myself during my last election as leader.”
The minority leader was referring to when Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) tried to unseat him after the 2022 midterms, where he lost in a 37-10 vote.
This comes amid several debates on Capitol Hill and among the American public over whether lawmakers should enact congressional term limits in general.
A nationwide poll recently conducted by PEW Research showed that an overwhelming 87% of adults favored limiting term limits. 56% strongly favored the move, compared to 12% who opposed it.
Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) emphasized his belief that “this is what the American people want,” before going on to say “term limits will also bring down the national debt.” During a press conference with Senate Republicans on Wednesday, Braun said that the national debt has skyrocketed to about $35 trillion and estimated it will hit $52 trillion in nine to ten years.
“Five years ago, it was about twenty cents of that dollar that we had to borrow. Now, it’s thirty cents,” Braun explains.
The American people are fed up with watching their money wasted by Washington — and paying for it every day with higher prices. pic.twitter.com/ft0H5rRHaI
Other known supporters of term limits include Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) and Representative Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).
“The fact that I have had the institutional memory that I’ve had here has always been helpful to the national debate and certainly back home as well,” said Representative Richard Neal (D-Mass.). “If you want to turn Congress over to the amateurs and the antis and the special interests, embrace term limits.”
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