Hillary Clinton rejects term limits, says voters should decide

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday rejected the idea of imposing term limits on elected officials, saying voters should decide how long their representatives remain in office.

“I don’t agree about term limits. I think term limits are artificial,” Clinton told journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher, who had argued in favor of some kind of curbs on elected officials, whether they be based on age, years in office, or terms.

“I think voters get to make the choice, and if somebody you and I think shouldn’t be running again, then vote against them,” she added.

Her remarks came amid renewed debate in the US over proposals to restrict how long members of Congress should remain in office.

Representatives serve two-year terms and senators serve six-year terms, but neither chamber limits the number of times a lawmaker may seek reelection.

Supporters of congressional term limits argue that they would encourage political renewal, reduce the advantages enjoyed by incumbents and prevent lawmakers from holding power for decades.

Opponents say such restrictions would deny voters the right to retain experienced representatives and could increase the influence of unelected congressional staff, lobbyists and interest groups.

Introducing congressional term limits would require an amendment to the US Constitution. Such an amendment must secure two-thirds support in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the states, or be proposed through a constitutional convention requested by two-thirds of state legislatures.

US presidents are subject to a separate constitutional restriction under the 22nd Amendment, which generally limits them to two elected terms.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, has previously opposed both mandatory retirement ages and term limits, maintaining that voters should judge candidates individually at the ballot box.