Donald Trump has declared war on Congress, by promising to introduce term limits and cracking down on lobbyists.
Trump, who has long claimed that America is riddled with political corruption, said he wanted to ‘drain the swamp’ in Washington.
He told cheering supporters in Grand Junction, Colorado: ‘If I am elected President, I will push for a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.’
Trump said members of the House of Representatives should be limited to six years and 12 years for Senators.
At present there are no limits on the amount of terms a congressman can serve and the record is 49 years, held by the late Senator Strom Thurmond, a Republican from South Carolina, who was in office from 1954 until 2003.
Trump is expected to push his agenda hard at tonight’s third Presidential debate with Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas.
He believes it will strike a chord with many Americans who perceive Washington as a cozy club where politicians and ‘special interests’ lobbyists scratch each other’s backs.
A spokesman for the Clinton campaign, Brian Fallon, said the Democratic nominee ‘will be ready for whatever scorched earth tactics (he) tries’ tonight.
Trump has invited Pat Smith, whose son, Sean, was one of four Americans killed during the 2012 attack in Benghazi, to the debate. She has said she holds Mrs Clinton personally responsible for her son’s death.
Republicans will be hoping Trump can close the gap on Clinton by focusing on her weaknesses, which include her closeness to Washington, and President Obama and their alleged failure to have addressed America’s underlying problems.
Trump himself has described the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, as a ‘weak and effective’ leader and has distanced himself from the GOP in Washington.
In his speech last night Trump said: ‘Decades of failure in Washington, and decades of special interest dealing, must come to an end.
‘We have to break the cycle of corruption, and we have to give new voices a chance to go into government service. The time for Congressional term limits has arrived.’
But experts say it would be almost impossible to get term limits passed by Congress and the president does not have the power to force them through because it would require the amendment of the constitution.
Washington Post journalist Amber Phillips pointed out: ‘In 1995, the Supreme Court decided in a 5 to 4 vote that states or Congress can’t just make a law limiting the number of terms members of Congress can serve.’
Molly Reynolds, a congressional expert with the Brookings Institution, told the Washington Post: ‘If members are restricted to only serving a few terms the logic goes, they have neither the time nor the incentive to develop the relevant expertise they need to be good at their jobs.
‘If members don’t have that expertise themselves, they’re more likely to rely on outsiders, including lobbyists, to replace that expertise.’
Trump told his supporters: ‘If we let the Clinton cartel run this government, history will record that 2017 was the year America lost its independence.
‘We will not let that happen. It is time to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.
‘That is why I am proposing a package of ethics reforms to make our government honest once again.’
He promised to bring in a ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the government for five years after they leave government service.
Trump also wants Congress to bring in its own five-year ban on lobbying by former members of Congress and their staff.
He also threatened to ‘expand the definition of lobbyist so we close all the loopholes that former government officials use by labeling themselves consultants and advisers’.
Trump pointedly promised to issue a lifetime ban against senior executive branch officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.
He also said: ‘I am going to ask Congress to pass a campaign finance reform that prevents registered foreign lobbyists from raising money in American elections.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3850660/Trump-vows-drain-swamp-Washington-imposing-term-limits-Congress-cracking-lobbying.html#ixzz4NYaigUv5
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
THIS MORON CANT EVEN DRAIN HIS COLOSTOMY BAG
Term limits will only make things worse. Congress has done its part on raping and pillaging the nation. Term limits will only accelerate their efforts as they would know they have only a limited time. You can not stop the lobbying. It will just go from being in the open to more concealed locations and methods. There is no hope for restraining government power. It always grows to consume everything. There has never been any evidence of the power of any government being slowly restrained. Unfortunately, if a government is removed or collapses the people will want another government put in the place of the old. People have to look to self government through the free market to have peaceful societies.
Remember your Old Testament?
Remember the Israelites went to Samuel to get them a King?
Israel had a Free market anarchy without rulers or ruled.
The Israelites wanted a King so they could go to war.
War is the health of a government not a nation.
YOU NAILED IT!! (dont drank on sundy)
‘If I am elected President, I will push for a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.’
Idiotic.
Open up the US Constitution to the liberal beast?!!
“Trump himself has described the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, as a ‘weak and effective’ leader and has distanced himself from the GOP in Washington.”
I wonder how one goes about being weak and effective at the same time? Is Ryan weakly effective or effectively weak?
F–king Daily Mail.
“He believes it will strike a chord with many Americans who perceive Washington as a cozy club where politicians and ‘special interests’ lobbyists scratch each other’s backs.”
That’s his appeal… he ISN’T a politician, so he can LIE like one and get away with it. Carnival barker or circus clown… take your pick.
“But experts say it would be almost impossible to get term limits passed by Congress and the president does not have the power to force them through because it would require the amendment of the constitution.”
Not being a politician, Chump wouldn’t be expected to know that.
Plausible deniability.
After Trump spends his first 90 days in office making excuses for why he can’t keep any of his promises, hopefully a few more idiots will pluck their heads from their rectums.