Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett weighed in on President Trump floating the idea of a third term, acknowledging that the 22nd Amendment prevents more than two terms.
Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” host Bret Baier said in an interview with Barrett that aired on Monday, “The 22nd Amendment says you can only run for office for two terms.”
“True,” replied Barrett, who was nominated by Trump in his first term.
When Baier asked if she thought “that’s cut and dry,” Barrett said, “Well, that’s, you know, that’s what the amendment says, right? You know, after FDR had four terms, that’s what that amendment says.”
Former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected for a third term in 1940 and later died in office during his fourth term, in 1945. In 1951, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, which put the two-term tradition that dated back to George Washington into the Constitution.
Trump and some of his allies have repeatedly floated the idea of a third term. At times, those comments have been dismissed as a joke, though Trump has at other points appeared more serious about the idea.
The president last month said he would “probably not” seek a third term, but added that he would “like to run.”
Earlier this year, the president said, “People are asking me to run. I don’t know, I never looked into it. And they do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that.”
He also has said it’s too soon to settle on a successor to serve as the Republican nominee in 2028, but has acknowledged Vice President Vance is the “most likely” heir apparent. The president also suggested Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who ran for president in 2016, could make a formidable ticket with Vance.
