Term Limits Are Not the Answer
Congress needs reform, but term limits aren't it
Todd Blanche’s path to becoming attorney general ran into Senate opposition right from the jump. Democrats, expectedly, are united in their opposition to letting President Trump’s former personal lawyer take the Department of Justice’s top spot. But it was two Republican senators who were holding up his Senate confirmation.
The timing of their standing up to Trump was anything but coincidental.
Longtime Texas senator John Cornyn had already lost his primary, and North Carolina senator Thom Tillis had announced his retirement rather than face an uphill battle for reelection. Both men will leave the Senate in January, which means neither needs Donald Trump’s endorsement, the Republican base’s affection, or a friendly call from the party’s campaign arm ever again. This gave them the political courage to hold up Blanche’s nomination.
Their objection centered on an extraordinary settlement between Trump (as a personal citizen) and the DOJ, connected to Trump’s lawsuit over the leak of his tax information. The deal included a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that could have been paid to Trump allies who claimed to be victims of politically motivated federal law enforcement — including, potentially, people prosecuted for attacking the Capitol on January 6. The settlement also included language that broadly shields Trump, his sons, and his company from future and past tax audits.
Cornyn and Tillis wanted the fund killed and the audit protection narrowed, if not eliminated. And after several mealy-mouthed statements by Blance and other administration officials about the anti-weaponization fund being dead, the senators demanded that its demise be put in black-and-white writing.
Trump responded by threatening to pull Blanche’s nomination and send it back after the two senators were gone.
Despite Trump’s threats, the two GOP senators held strong. By Monday, the Justice Department had formally rescinded the fund, clarified that the audit agreement applied only retroactively, and won the two senators’ support for Blanche. As a result, the nomination was again moving full steam ahead. (Note: there is debate about how binding the deal is that Blanche and the two senators agreed to.)
For many, the episode makes a seductive argument for congressional term limits. Take away the fear of reelection, and lawmakers may finally remember that they belong to a separate branch of government. They will suddenly find the backbone to tell their president no.
But as enticing as it seems to let term limits help elected lawmakers find their courage, they are the wrong answer to the right question: how to get public officials to do the hard things required of their office in our system of government. In fact, if you can believe it, term limits would make our broken politics even worse.
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