A top California Democrat is moving to rescind his state's call for a constitutional convention, fearing that it could be used by President-elect Donald Trump and his allies to push through far-right revisions to the country's founding document, The New York Times reported.
“I do not want California to inadvertently trigger a constitutional convention that ends up shredding the Constitution,” state Sen. Scott Wiener told the Times. He is introducing legislation Monday that would retract his state's previous seven calls to amend the country's system of government amid concerns that Republicans, who control all three branches of the federal government and a majority of state legislatures, would use a convention to roll back the rights of women and racial minorities.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution states that a convention can be held, and proposed amendments duly considered, if "two thirds" of the states request one; any amendments passed at such a convention would then require the approval of "three fourths" of state legislatures.
By some counts, that's already happened. As the Times notes, the Constitution does not specify whether the calls for a convention must be rooted in the same demand, or what form a convention should take, nor does it state there is any expiration date once a call is made.
According to one database, cited by the Times, it would appear that more than the required 34 states already have standing requests for a convention. A congressional resolution introduced by Rep. Jody Arrington, R-Texas, argues that the threshold was indeed met in 1979 and therefore Congress should formally call for a convention.
One possible target for Republicans could be the provision barring any person from serving as president "more than twice." Speaking Sunday at the New York Young Republican Club, Steve Bannon, a former Trump White House adviser, raised the prospect of the president-elect staying in office after his second term expires, though he also suggested there may already be a loophole in the 22nd Amendment.
“Donald John Trump is going to raise his hand on the King James Bible and take the oath of office, his third victory and his second term,” Bannon said, per The Independent, citing the legal analysis of a Trump-allied attorney. “And the viceroy Mike Davis tells me — since it doesn’t actually say consecutive — that, I don’t know, maybe we do it again in ‘28? Are you guys down for that? Trump ‘28?! Come on, man!”
