Normally, Congress has better things to do than consider a resolution declaring that the sky is blue or water is wet. However, these are not normal times, and the twice-impeached Donald Trump is soon to become twice-inaugurated. So, here we are, navigating through a transition that feels like an anxious calm before a category-five storm.
New York Rep. Dan Goldman recently introduced House Resolution 1570 to remind all Americans of something that has not been (and should not be) up for debate. Since the passage of the 22nd Amendment in 1951, the U.S. Constitution limits individuals to serving no more than two terms as President of the United States. Considering Trump's autocratic tendencies and his statements over the years suggesting, joking, or fantasizing about extended stays in the White House, this resolution is offered as official pushback.
The resolution came the day after Trump told House Republicans at the Capitol, "I suspect I won't be running again unless you say, 'He's so good we've got to figure something else out.'" It follows several other expressions of desiring to remain in office. In fact, Goldman cites no fewer than 15 of them in the "whereas" clauses of his resolution.
For example, Trump has thought aloud about scrapping elections altogether, telling supporters at a conservative Christian event in July, "You won't have to vote anymore... it'll be fixed so good." And in March 2018, Trump praised for China's President Xi Jinping for making himself "president for life," calling it "great" and that "we'll have to give that a shot someday."
Goldman's resolution draws attention to Trump's promise that he will be a dictator on "day one," along with his relentless concerning history of trying to figure out ways to rip up the Constitution to satisfy his thirst for absolute power. Not long ago, such a resolution would look absurd. But as Trump sits at Mar-a-Lago champing at the bit to start his revenge term, nothing is off the table.