US attorney general says third Trump term would be 'a heavy lift'

The US attorney general said on Sunday that it would be "a heavy lift" for Donald Trump to find a legal way to run for a third term as president.

"I wish we could have him for 20 years as our president," Pam Bondi told Fox News Sunday, "but I think he's going to be finished, probably, after this term."

The US Constitution was amended in 1947 to set a two-year limit on the presidency, not long after Franklin Roosevelt died near 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. "It'd be a heavy lift."

Trump's early talk of seeking a third term struck many as fanciful, but on March 31 the 78-year-old president told NBC News that he was "not joking" about the possibility. He said there were "methods" that would allow it to happen.

The remarks by Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, about the difficulty of a legal third term appear to align with the views of most constitutional scholars. But as a confirmed Trump loyalist holding the government's top law-enforcement office, her comments take on greater significance.

Earlier in the interview with Fox's Shannon Bream, Bondi spoke out against the broad legal pushback the still-young Trump administration has faced as he moves aggressively to put his policies in place.

"We've had over 170 lawsuits brought against us — that should be the constitutional crisis right there," she said. "We'll continue to fight" those cases 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 charged with the December 4, 2024 killing on a New York sidewalk of health insurance executive Brian Thompson.

"The president's directive was very clear: we are to seek the death penalty when possible," she said. "If there was ever a death case, this is one."

Bondi exulted in one recent legal victory, when the Supreme Court on Friday 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 intended for teacher training and professional development. "We just got a great win," Bondi said, "and we'll continue to fight every day."

Agence France-Presse