Trump must now push for a convention of states to consider 3 new amendments

More than 10 years after its delivery, the warnings from Donald Trump’s June 2015 presidential candidacy announcement continue to reverberate. He decried the high cost of Affordable Care Act medical insurance subsidies. He warned about the federal debt, then at $18 trillion, calling the $24 trillion debt the point of no return.

About 15 months later, beginning with a speech in October 2016, he added a third dire warning about Washington’s entrenched bureaucracy. His call for a constitutional amendment for term limits in Congress, and his catchphrase “drain the swamp,” elicited overwhelmingly positive responses from crowds at campaign rallies.

Later this month, a devastating dispute at the Department of Homeland Security threatens another partial government shutdown. The federal debt sits at more than $38.5 trillion. Despite DOGE’s efforts and actions to dismantle parts of the government such as the Department of Education – employees in and around the Beltway still wield enormous power.

Another crippling problem is the overreach of the judiciary. According to Nonprofit Law, there are currently 253 active court cases challenging Trump’s administration’s actions as president. And although Supreme Court decisions have repeatedly sided with Trump, liberal judges continue to hand down orders to block his executive policies and orders.

Add to this an unprecedented degree of uncertainty about the 2026 midterm elections. More than 50 disaffected senators and members of Congress, many of them Republicans, are choosing not to seek re-election. The most recent polls give Democrats a 5-point advantage in the upcoming midterms, and the party that occupies the White House historically loses 20 to 25 congressional seats in the midterms.

If the Democrats win the House, the next Trump is likely to be impeached. The political landscape in 2027 and 2028 may be much murkier and less favorable to Trump than it is now.

But there is a way that Trump can end all of this and provide the nation with a major, perhaps even transformative, benefit in the process. Staying true to his roots and his campaign rhetoric from 2015, Trump could announce in 2026 that he is now advocating for a convention of states under Article V of the US Constitution, to adopt changes in how Washington operates.

In particular, he will seek congressional term limits (some 87 percent of the public support it), a balanced budget amendment (49 of our 50 states already have it), and limitations on the power of the judiciary.

All three are perfectly aligned with what Trump believes and has campaigned for since he first threw his hat in the presidential ring 11 years ago.

From a practical perspective, Trump’s involvement could ensure the success of the movement working towards such a convention of states. Under Article V, 34 state legislatures must pass resolutions to keep it. There are 20 states that have already agreed to the measure. Trump won 31 states in the 2024 presidential election. 17 of them have not accepted the proposal yet.

If Trump supports the measure and campaigns for an Article V convention, many of these 17 states will surely be on board.

Trump’s involvement will also ensure success because of another factor: growing public discontent with the status quo. About 80 percent of Americans feel the country is in political crisis. The current upheaval in domestic immigration enforcement and the midterm campaign will likely fuel that sentiment.

The best legacy Trump can leave America on its 250th anniversary is to reform the status quo once and for all. And the only way to achieve that is through the State Convention process.

John Kerezi is an associate professor at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.

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