No. Members of Congress have no term limits. A representative can win two-year terms and a senator six-year terms for as long as voters keep re-electing them. The Constitution sets only age, citizenship and residency requirements, the Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that states can’t add limits of their own, and every attempt to pass a term limits amendment has fallen short.
The president is limited to two terms by the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951. Congress never applied anything similar to itself.
Why doesn’t the Constitution limit congressional terms? #
Term limits weren’t a new idea in 1787. The Articles of Confederation barred delegates from serving more than three years in any six. The Framers dropped that rule when they wrote the Constitution.
Their reasoning was that elections were the check. House members would face voters every two years, which James Madison argued in the Federalist Papers would keep them dependent on the people. Experienced lawmakers were also seen as a counterweight to the executive. So Article I lists just three qualifications:
| House | Senate | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | 25 | 30 |
| Citizenship | 7 years | 9 years |
| Residency | Inhabitant of the state when elected | Inhabitant of the state when elected |
| Term length | 2 years | 6 years, staggered |
| Limit on terms | None | None |
Can states set term limits for their members of Congress? #
No. In the early 1990s, more than 20 states passed limits on their own congressional delegations, usually through ballot initiatives. Arkansas’s version barred anyone who had served three House terms or two Senate terms from appearing on the ballot.
In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995), the Supreme Court struck that down 5-4. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority that the Constitution’s qualifications are fixed, and that “allowing individual States to adopt their own qualifications for congressional service would be inconsistent with the Framers’ vision of a uniform National Legislature representing the people of the United States.” The ruling voided every state’s congressional term limits at once.
States can still limit their own legislators and governors. Sixteen states have term limits for state lawmakers, including California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and, since 2022, North Dakota.
Has Congress ever voted on term limits? #
Yes. After the 1994 midterms, the new House Republican majority brought a term limits amendment to the floor as part of the Contract with America. In March 1995 the leading version, capping House members at six terms and senators at two, got 227 votes to 204. An amendment needs two-thirds of those voting, which would have been 290.
Versions have been introduced in nearly every Congress since. In January 2025, at the start of the 119th Congress, Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Ralph Norman again introduced an amendment limiting House members to three terms and senators to two. None has come close to a floor vote in recent years. You can track any current proposal on Congress.gov.
How would a term limits amendment actually pass? #
Article V gives two routes:
- Through Congress. Two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate approve a joint resolution, then three-fourths of the states (38) ratify it. The president has no role. The hurdle is obvious: it asks sitting members to limit their own careers.
- Through a convention. Two-thirds of state legislatures (34) apply for a convention to propose amendments, and anything it proposes still needs 38 states to ratify. The group U.S. Term Limits has pushed states to pass applications limited to congressional term limits, but nowhere near 34 have, and no Article V convention has ever been called.
We explain how joint resolutions differ from bills in bill vs. joint resolution.
What are the arguments for and against term limits? #
Term limits poll well with voters of both parties, but the arguments on each side are serious.
For term limits:
- More turnover would bring in people with recent experience outside politics.
- Long-serving members build close ties to lobbyists and donors.
- Open seats at regular intervals would create more competitive races, since incumbents rarely lose.
Against term limits:
- Lawmakers would leave just as they learn how budgets, oversight and the legislative process work.
- Staff, lobbyists and executive agencies, who aren’t limited, could gain influence over inexperienced members.
- Members in their final term would never face voters again.
- Voters would lose the choice to keep a representative they like.
Research on state legislatures with term limits has found real effects, including less experienced committee chairs and more reliance on staff and lobbyists, though turnover alone didn’t make legislatures look very different demographically.
Do incumbents really win almost every time? #
Nearly. In most recent cycles, well over 90% of House incumbents who ran for re-election won, according to OpenSecrets, and Senate rates are usually a bit lower. Name recognition, fundraising networks and favorable district lines all help. We cover the reasons in why incumbents have an advantage.
Turnover still happens without term limits, mostly through retirement. The 2026 cycle has seen more than 60 House members announce they’re leaving, one of the largest waves on record, and 11 senators retiring, the most since 1996. Two senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, also lost their primaries this year.
That means a lot of open seats in November, which is where polling matters most, because there’s no incumbent’s track record to go on. Election Tracker groups Senate polls by race and averages the generic congressional ballot on its House tab, with the pollster, sample and dates on every poll. You can pin the races you care about. It’s free on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions #
How long can a member of Congress serve? #
As long as they keep winning. The record belongs to Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, who served in the House for 59 years and 21 days, from 1955 to 2015.
Why can’t my state limit its senators’ terms? #
The Supreme Court held in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) that the Constitution’s qualifications for Congress are exclusive. A state can’t add a qualification, and a term limit counts as one. Only a constitutional amendment could impose limits.
Does the president have term limits? #
Yes. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, bars anyone from being elected president more than twice. It was a response to Franklin Roosevelt’s four election wins.
Do any state legislatures have term limits? #
Sixteen states limit how long their own legislators can serve. The rules vary: some cap consecutive terms, others impose a lifetime cap.
Has a term limits amendment ever passed the House? #
No. The closest was the March 1995 vote, which won a majority (227-204) but fell well short of the two-thirds needed.