(NaturalNews) One of President-elect Donald J. Trump's goals in office is to usher in congressional term limits. As one of his six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in the nation's capital, proposing a constitutional amendment that would curb the amount of time Americans could serve in Congress is first on the list.

What chance does Trump really have in getting an amendment limiting congressional terms through Congress though?

Slim to none, most political analysts would conclude. The Republican majority may be prepared to work with the Trump administration to accomplish much of what he wants, but it's highly unlikely that they would vote to approve an amendment that would eventually put them out of a job.

But what if, as part of an agreement to get the amendment passed and sent to the states for ratification (in which three-fourths of state legislatures would also have to approve – a tall order), currently-serving lawmakers would be exempted? Might that sweeten the deal, so to speak?

It might.
 

Trump and others believe term limits would solve a lot of the corruption problems in D.C.

Many of Trump's campaign advisors know Washington, D.C., very well. They know that the halls of Congress are filled with careerist, narcissistic politicians who have somehow done quite well for themselves while "serving" their citizens. Take retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, for example: After decades in public service earning a modest salary, he's retiring a multi-millionaire.

So, they understand the "what's in it for us?" mentality quite well. In some respects, that's the mentality Trump's entire "drain the swamp" approach to cleaning up Washington corruption embodies.

But then again, the greater good would be the opportunity to finally put in place congressional term limits that many political scientists and other observers say are vitally needed to keep deep-rooted corruption at bay.

So, exempting the current batch of lawmakers, while imposing, say, two six-year terms on senators and six two-year terms on House members, on all newly-elected members after a certain date, could just get the amendment to the states, where some 80 percent of legislatures are Republican-controlled.

As noted by Ashford University, the founding fathers did not include congressional term limits in the Constitution, though they were included in the Articles of Confederation. So they set House terms at two years, forcing those serving in the people's body to face voters often.