VIEWPOINT | Presidents are term limited. Congress should be, too

Guest column by Taffy Howard

On Feb. 27, Americans across the nation celebrated National Term Limits Day. National Term Limits Day celebrates the ratification of the 22^nd Amendment to the Constitution, setting a limit of two four-year terms for American presidents.

Until Franklin Roosevelt, no president had served more than two elected terms in office. It was a tradition established by George Washington. Two presidents prior to FDR had sought to do so – Ulysses S. Grant and Woodrow Wilson – and had failed in even securing their party’s nomination. Roosevelt, citing his importance in World War II, ran for an unprecedented third term and then a fourth term even though he was ill (he died 82 days into his fourth term). 

After his presidency, there were widespread calls to establish a constitutional amendment to set term limits for the president. Roosevelt’s successor, Harry Truman, who was an advocate of term limits for both the presidency and Congress, supported this initiative. When Congress appeared reluctant to pass an amendment setting terms for the presidency, the states started to act by calling for a constitutional amendment. As the states were nearing the two-thirds majority needed to force Congress to act, Congress decided it was in its best interest to address the issue. This was the genesis of the 22^nd Amendment.

Harry Truman who was President when the 22^nd Amendment was ratified, was grandfathered in, so the amendment did not affect him. However, Truman believed two terms were enough for any occupant in the White House. Believing that since he had served all but 82 days of Roosevelt’s fourth term plus one full term, he had served two terms, and opted not to run again in 1952. Truman hoped that Congress would further act on term limits for itself after the 22^nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 but has failed to do so.

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