Ted Cruz files bill limiting senators to two terms as he runs for his third

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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz reintroduced a bill final week to restrict senators from serving greater than two six-year terms, even as he stands by plans to run for his third.

The bill is a constitutional modification that might stop U.S. senators from serving greater than 12 years. It would additionally stop these within the U.S. House from serving greater than three two-year terms. Terms served by members prior to the bill’s enactment wouldn’t depend towards the proposed time period limitations, which implies that if the bill had been to be handed by this Congress, Cruz wouldn’t be time period restricted till 2036.

“Term limits are critical to fixing what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.,” the Texas Republican mentioned in a statement after introducing the bill final week. “The Founding Fathers envisioned a government of citizen legislators who would serve for a few years and return home, not a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians who prey upon the brokenness of Washington to govern in a manner that is totally unaccountable to the American people.”

He declined to reply questions on why he would search a third time period in workplace, given his view concerning the want to restrict how lengthy members ought to serve.

It is very unlikely that the bill could have any traction in Congress. This is the fourth time Cruz has launched the laws, nevertheless it has by no means gotten a vote in both the House or the Senate.

Cruz announced in November that he is in search of a third time period within the Senate in 2024.

“I’m running for reelection in the Senate; I’m focused on the battles in the United States Senate,” Cruz informed reporters after addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas.

At the identical time, Cruz hasn’t dominated out plans to pivot and run for president as a substitute. He beforehand ran for president in 2016.

Cruz initially introduced the bill alongside then-U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, now Florida governor, in 2017 and alongside former U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Florida, in 2019. U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-South Carolina, is now main the cost to go the bill within the U.S. House.

This 12 months his co-sponsors within the U.S. Senate included Republican Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Mike Lee of Utah, Steve Daines of Montana, Todd Young of Indiana, Mike Braun of Indiana, Rick Scott of Florida, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

There’s an extremely excessive threshold to go a constitutional modification. They should obtain two-thirds of the votes in every chamber earlier than having to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures within the nation.

Cruz was elected to his first term in 2012 and was reelected to a second time period after a hard-fought race towards Beto O’Rourke in 2018.

The average amount of time that those elected to the 118th Congress have served was 8.5 years for these within the House and 11.2 years for these within the Senate, in accordance to the Congressional Research Service.

In the Texas Legislature, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, piled on with his personal bill that might permit Texas to cap its U.S. senators to serving at most two terms in workplace. Gutierrez informed The Texas Tribune that the “bill seeks to oblige” Cruz.

“This is the same story he does every two years,” Gutierrez mentioned. “It is beyond hypocrisy, if he wants term limits so badly to save us from entrenched politicians, then he needs to go retire now. He’s done his 12 years.”

It’s unclear whether or not Gutierrez’s proposal has any tooth behind it if handed by the Legislature.

Gutierrez mentioned it might rely upon the result of a U.S. Supreme Court case that facilities round whether or not a state judicial department has the authority to discard federal election laws carried out by a state legislature. If the Supreme Court sides with North Carolina legislators, it might open a path for state legislators to institute time period limits on their congressional leaders.