House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he won’t push to eliminate term limits for committee chairs, despite President Trump’s recent tweet that the practice has encouraged too many GOP retirements lately.
“You can always look at something,” McCarthy of California, said Tuesday when asked about Trump’s suggestion that the GOP drop the term limits. “But, I love the idea of fresh blood.”
Republicans installed a three-term limit on chairmanships and ranking positions when they won the House majority in 1994.
In recent weeks, a wave of GOP lawmakers announced they are retiring, hindering Republican efforts to win back the majority in 2020.
Among those heading for the exits is Reps. Mike Conaway of Texas, who just concluded a six-year term heading the Agriculture Committee, and Rob Bishop of Utah, who is serving his final term as ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee.
“House Republicans should allow Chairs of Committees to remain for longer than 6 years,” Trump tweeted.
“It forces great people, and real leaders, to leave after serving. The Dems have unlimited terms. While that has its own problems, it is a better way to go. Fewer people, in the end, will leave!”
Democrats impose no term limits, which allows chairs and ranking members to stay in place as long as they remain in office.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, for example, has served as either the chairman or the top Democrat on the panel since 2007.
McCarthy criticized House Democrats for failing to impose term limits, arguing it prevents new members from having a chance to move into more senior positions.
“The difference with Republicans is you don’t earn a chairmanship just because you’ve been sitting here,” McCarthy said. “You earn a chairmanship by work.”
[Opinion: Term limits for congressional staff? 10 reasons it’s an awful idea]
