Trump's early talk of seeking a third term seemed fanciful to many, but on March 31, the 78-year-old president stressed he was "not kidding" about the possibility.
The U.S. attorney general said it would be a "daunting task" for Donald Trump to find a legitimate way to run for a third term as president.
"I'd like to have him for 20 years as our president," Pam Bondi told Fox News, "but I think he'll be done, probably, after this term," AFP reports.
The U.S. Constitution was amended in 1947 to set a two-year presidential term limit shortly after Franklin Roosevelt died at the start of his fourth term in the White House.
But constitutional amendments require approval by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, as well as ratification by three-quarters of the 50 states, which political analysts say is extremely unlikely.
"That's really the only way to do it," Bondi said. "That would be very difficult."
Trump's early talk of seeking a third term seemed fanciful to many, but on March 31, the 78-year-old president stressed he was "not kidding" about the possibility.
He said he had "methods" that would allow it to happen.
The remarks by Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, about the difficulties of legally holding a third term seem to coincide with the views of most constitutional scholars.
But as an avowed Trump loyalist holding the state's highest law enforcement post, her comments take on greater significance.
Earlier, Bondi spoke out against the widespread legal resistance the still-young Trump administration faces as it moves aggressively to enact its policies.
"There are over 170 lawsuits filed against us - this is supposed to be the constitutional crisis," she said. "We will continue to fight" those lawsuits as they move through the courts.
Bondi defended the administration's decision to seek the death penalty in the case of Luigi Mangione, who is accused of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing on a New York City sidewalk of health insurance executive Brian Thompson.
"The president's directive was very clear: We should seek the death penalty whenever possible," she said.
Bondi exulted in a recent legal victory when the Supreme Court sided with the administration in a dispute over the Education Department's move to freeze so-called DEI grants - involving efforts to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion.
The right-leaning court allowed the administration to continue freezing $64 million earmarked for teacher training and professional development.
"We just achieved a big victory," Bondi said, "and we're going to keep fighting every day." | BGNES