A 2025 House joint resolution proposes new limits on congressional service, but its eligibility cutoff would leave Sen. Mitch McConnell outside the caps because he entered the Senate decades ago.
The proposal sets a ceiling of six two-year terms for House members and two six-year terms for senators. It excludes anyone who served in Congress before the 118th Congress. McConnell began serving in the Senate on Jan. 3, 1985, well before that cutoff.
The resolution seeks a constitutional amendment, a route shaped by the Supreme Court’s 1995 ruling in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton. The court held that states cannot add congressional term limits to the qualifications for members of Congress. Under the resolution, two-thirds of each chamber would have to approve the amendment, followed by ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. The resolution itself would not put the limits into effect.
Democrats won control of both chambers in Tuesday, Nov. 3, midterms, the Associated Press and Reuters reported. Hindustan Times reported that New Mexico state Rep. John Block, commentator Shawn Farash and a Facebook page associated with Steve Gruber’s show called for congressional age or service limits after the clip circulated.
Reposted footage shows Newsmax correspondent Kilmeny Duchardt asking McConnell about Republican losses. He gives no spoken answer before being wheeled away, and the footage provides no reason for his nonresponse. McConnell announced on Feb. 20, 2025, that he would not seek an eighth term, saying, “My current term in the Senate will be my last.” His term ends when the next Congress convenes at noon ET Jan. 3, 2027.
The House referred the joint resolution to the House Judiciary Committee. The congressional record lists no vote date.
