US lawmaker outlines plan ‘to drain swamp’ in Congress

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-North Carolina) has proposed a 12 year term limit for members of both the US Senate and House

Term limits could soon be introduced for members of both the US Senate and House of Representatives thanks to Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-North Carolina), who told Fox News on Tuesday that he is launching a campaign to get such a measure passed. 

“If you're not able to accomplish your goals in over a decade, I really don't want you to represent me anyway,” the Republican said Tuesday. 

Term limits have been discussed in the past by politicians, with former President Donald Trump even making it a last-minute campaign promise during the 2020 presidential election. 

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But the task of passing such seismic legislation is one Cawthorn admits will likely not be achieved this year, especially as it needs a Constitutional amendment, a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, and ratification by over three dozen states. The current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has served since 1987 and recently announced she will be running for reelection. Her Senate counterpart, Chuck Schumer, has served since 1999.

Cawthorn revealed he will be launching a “term limits tour” across the country to amass public support to help “drain the swamp.” Another goal of the congressman is to make his term limits legislation popular enough that it becomes something future Republicans must support to earn major endorsements. Cawthorn’s term limits would apply to new members of Congress. 

“I think the American people deserve a class of elected officials that aren't entrenched in Washington, DC because once you've been here for over 12 years, you stop to repel the swamp, and I think you kind of start to morph into it,” the 26-year-old congressman said. 

Current President Joe Biden hasn’t spoken much about the idea of term limits, but he did oppose term-limit legislation that was part of the GOP’s Contract with America in 1994. Then a senator, Biden argued that the “power of the ballot box” gave people the opportunity to vote out anyone they do not like.