Donald Trump’s warning when he announced his candidacy for president in June 2015 still resonates more than 10 years after the report was released. He decried the cost of Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies as too high. He warned about the then $18 trillion federal debt, saying the $24 trillion debt had reached a point of no return.
Some 15 months later, starting with that October 2016 speech, he issued a third dire warning about Washington’s entrenched bureaucracy. He called for a constitutional amendment to congressional term limits and offered language to “drain the swamp,” eliciting a hugely positive response from crowds at campaign rallies.
The disastrous controversy surrounding the Department of Homeland Security could lead to another partial government shutdown later this month. The federal debt exceeds $38.5 trillion. Despite the efforts of the Government House and actions to dismantle certain departments of government, such as the Department of Education, entrenched bureaucracies still wield enormous power in and around the Beltway.
Another paralyzing problem is judicial overreach. According to the nonprofit Lawfare, there are currently 253 active court cases challenging Trump’s administration’s actions as president. Although the Supreme Court has often ruled in Trump’s favor, liberal judges continue to issue injunctions blocking his executive policies and orders.
Add to this the unprecedented uncertainty surrounding the 2026 midterm elections. More than 50 frustrated senators and members of Congress, many of them Republicans, chose not to seek re-election. Recent polls show the Democrats leading by 5 percentage points in the upcoming midterm elections, with the party winning the White House set to lose 20 to 25 congressional seats in the midterm elections.
If Democrats win back the House, Trump could be impeached again. The political landscape in 2027 and 2028 may become even darker and less favorable to Trump than it is now.
But Trump has a way to reverse all that, and deliver huge, possibly transformative, benefits to the country in the process. True to his roots and campaign rhetoric since 2015, Trump may announce in 2026 that he now advocates convening a conference of states under Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution to change how Washington is run.
Specifically, he would seek congressional term limits (87% of the public supports it), a balanced budget amendment (49 of our 50 states already do this), and limits on judicial power.
All three points are entirely consistent with Trump’s beliefs and campaign philosophy since he was first elected president 11 years ago.
From a practical perspective, Trump’s involvement could ensure the success of the campaign to host such a national conference. Under Article V, 34 state legislatures must pass resolutions to hold meetings. Twenty states have so far agreed to the measure. Trump won 31 states in the 2024 presidential election. Of those, 17 have yet to ratify the resolution.
If Trump supports the measure and launches an Article V convention, many of those 17 states are certain to join.
Trump’s involvement will also ensure success because of another factor: growing public disenchantment with the status quo. About 80% of Americans believe the country is in a political crisis. The current turmoil over internal immigration enforcement and the midterm election campaign has only heightened this sentiment.
The best legacy Trump can leave to the United States on its 250th anniversary is to reform the status quo once and for all. The only way to achieve this is through the national convention process.
John Kerezy is an associate professor at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
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