Amherst professor Austin Sarat examines how the 22nd Amendment’s presidential term limits, originally passed to prevent another FDR-style extended presidency, affects second-term Presidents in general and Donald Trump’s anticipated second term in particular. Professor Sarat argues that term limits can paradoxically enable presidential overreach by freeing second-term Presidents from electoral accountability, suggesting this could be especially concerning in Trump's case given his stated plans to expand executive power.
Trending
Meet our Columnists
Columnist Publications ![Justice Denied What America Must Do to Protect Its Children]( "Justice Denied What America Must Do to Protect Its Children")
![Constitutional Law, Cases and Materials (University Casebooks)]( "Constitutional Law, Cases and Materials (University Casebooks)")
![Family Law in New York]( "Family Law in New York")
![God vs. the Gavel The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty]( "God vs. the Gavel The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty")
![Gender Equality Dimensions of Women's Equal Citizenship]( "Gender Equality Dimensions of Women's Equal Citizenship")
![Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America]( "Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America")
![Constitutional Law Concise Edition (University Casebooks)]( "Constitutional Law Concise Edition (University Casebooks)")
![The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech: Its Constitutional History and the Contemporary Debate]( "The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech: Its Constitutional History and the Contemporary Debate")
![Pure Goldwater]( "Pure Goldwater")
![Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series)]( "Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series)")
![Blind Ambition: The White House Years]( "Blind Ambition: The White House Years")
![The Debt Ceiling Disasters: How the Republicans Created an Unnecessary Constitutional Crisis and How the Democrats Can Fight Back]( "The Debt Ceiling Disasters: How the Republicans Created an Unnecessary Constitutional Crisis and How the Democrats Can Fight Back")
![Conservatives Without Conscience]( "Conservatives Without Conscience")
![Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush]( "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush")
![The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It]( "The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It")
![The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court]( "The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court")
![Fundamentalism, Politics, and the Law]( "Fundamentalism, Politics, and the Law")
![Gender & Law: Theory Doctrine & Commentary, Sixth Edition]( "Gender & Law: Theory Doctrine & Commentary, Sixth Edition")
![Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches]( "Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches")
![Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans]( "Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans")
![Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans]( "Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans")
![Nine to Five: How Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Continue to Define the American Workplace]( "Nine to Five: How Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Continue to Define the American Workplace")
