The case
Not a vibe. A rule the country already uses for the presidency, for most governors, and for 15 state legislatures. Congress is the holdout because Congress would have to pass it.
83%
public support
Jan 2025 McLaughlin poll
27
of this class, already gone
under a 12-year total cap
577
career-years past the cap
just among these names
Chuck Grassley has been in Congress since 1975. Ed Markey since 1976. Hal Rogers, Steny Hoyer, and Chris Smith since 1981. These are not public servants passing through. These are occupancy. When Lindsey Graham died in July, South Carolina did not open the seat — the governor gifted it to his sister. A 12-year cap would have ended all of them before the iPhone, before 9/11, before the euro.
Members earn $174,000. A majority are millionaires. The Pelosi household's disclosed portfolio crushed the S&P 500 over four decades. The STOCK Act requires a PDF, not a blind trust. They write the rules for industries they hold. Then they call it public service.
TARP. Omnibus. CHIPS. Ukraine aid. FISA. The NDAA. The letters after the names change. The yeas do not. Bipartisan, in this town, means the deal was cut before you heard about it. America First is a slogan they test in the primary and retire in committee.
Presidents get eight years. Governors in 37 states are termed out. 15 state legislatures have limits. 83% of Americans want the same for Congress — 79% of Democrats, 85% of Republicans. The only constituency against it is the 535 people who would have to vote themselves off the island.
U.S. Term Limits amendment — House Joint Resolution 12 and Senate Joint Resolution 1: three House terms (6 years) and two Senate terms (12 years). 151 members had pledged by early 2025, the high-water mark. It still dies in the body that would have to vote.
This site scores a simpler 12-year total cap so you can see the occupancy in one number. Grassley would have left in 1987. Pelosi in 1999. McConnell in 1997. The gavels would belong to people who still remember another job.
| Member | Years | Would have left | Over by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Grassley R-IA | 51 | 1987 | 39 yrs |
| Ed Markey D-MA | 49 | 1988 | 37 yrs |
| Chuck Schumer D-NY | 45 | 1993 | 33 yrs |
| Hal Rogers R-KY | 45 | 1993 | 33 yrs |
| Steny Hoyer D-MD | 45 | 1993 | 33 yrs |
| Ron Wyden D-OR | 45 | 1993 | 33 yrs |
| Chris Smith R-NJ | 45 | 1993 | 33 yrs |
| Dick Durbin D-IL | 43 | 1995 | 31 yrs |
| Marcy Kaptur D-OH | 43 | 1995 | 31 yrs |
| Mitch McConnell R-KY | 41 | 1997 | 29 yrs |
| Nancy Pelosi D-CA | 39 | 1999 | 27 yrs |
| Bernie Sanders I-VT | 35 | 2003 | 23 yrs |
| Maxine Waters D-CA | 35 | 2003 | 23 yrs |
| Patty Murray D-WA | 33 | 2005 | 21 yrs |
| Jim Clyburn D-SC | 33 | 2005 | 21 yrs |
| Darline Graham R-SC | 31 | 2007 | 19 yrs |
| Susan Collins R-ME | 29 | 2009 | 17 yrs |
| John Thune R-SD | 29 | 2009 | 17 yrs |
| Jerry Moran R-KS | 29 | 2009 | 17 yrs |
| Shelley Moore Capito R-WV | 25 | 2013 | 13 yrs |
| Maria Cantwell D-WA | 25 | 2013 | 13 yrs |
| Lisa Murkowski R-AK | 23 | 2014 | 11 yrs |
| John Cornyn R-TX | 23 | 2014 | 11 yrs |
| Bill Cassidy R-LA | 17 | 2021 | 5 yrs |
| Todd Young R-IN | 15 | 2023 | 3 yrs |
| Richard Blumenthal D-CT | 15 | 2023 | 3 yrs |
| Elizabeth Warren D-MA | 13 | 2025 | 1 yrs |
They don't. House incumbents who run win about 94% of the time. FairVote projected 81% of 2026 House seats as safe for one party. Gerrymandering, fundraising, name ID, and closed primaries are the real election. A cap is the only rule that does not require the incumbent's permission.
Lobbyists already run the place — because the same 20 people have held the gavels since your parents were young. Staff and K Street outlast members now. A cap forces the knowledge into the institution instead of into a person who cannot be fired. Presidents are termed out. The Republic did not collapse.
The Founders expected rotation in office as a norm, not a career. They had just beaten a king. Average House tenure in the 19th century was two to four years. The 22nd Amendment already accepted that some offices are too powerful to occupy for life. Congress applied that logic to the presidency in 1951 and filed itself under 'exception.'
Averages hide the gavels. CRS puts the 119th House at 8.6 years and the Senate at 11.2 — but 47% of senators and 23% of representatives are already over 12 years, and they chair the committees. The mean is a freshman. The median of power is a lifer.
Local only · no account
83% of the country is already here. This does not email anyone. It marks this browser so you remember which side of the 83% you are on.