Ted Cruz introduced a term limit bill that would actually end his own career in the Senate

Jacob Shamsian

Jan 4, 2019, 21:08 IST

Ted Cruz introduced a term limit bill that would actually end his own career in the Senate

Justin Sullivan/Getty Image

Ted Cruz.

Senator Ted Cruz introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow only two terms for Senators and three for members of the House of Representatives.
It would limit Cruz's term in the Senate to his current one, which ends in 2025.
Congressional terms are currently unlimited, though there are limits on individual committees.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz introduced a constitutional amendment Friday that would restrict Senators to two six-year terms. If it's passed, it would limit Cruz's Senate career to its current term.

The amendment would also limit members of the House of Representatives to three two-year terms. It's co-sponsored by Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, and David Purdue.

Cruz just began his second consecutive term in the United States Senate, after winning reelection in November 2018 over Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke. He's set to end his term in 2025.

Currently, terms in both houses of Congress are unlimited, although there are limits to the number of terms members of Congress may have on committees. Cruz has been a longtime critic of the Constitution not including term limits. He introduced a similar bill a year ago, according to ABC News.

"For too long, members of Congress have abused their power and ignored the will of the American people," Cruz told ABC. "Term limits on members of Congress offer a solution to the brokenness we see in Washington, D.C. It is long past time for Congress to hold itself accountable. I urge my colleagues to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification."

For the amendment to be passed, it would need to be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by 38 states. The last constitutional amendment, the 27th, was ratified in 1992.