Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has proposed a constitutional amendment that would make all members of Congress ineligible to run for reelection “whenever inflation exceeds 3%” or when the deficit exceeds 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).
The proposal revives an idea first suggested by Warren Buffett more than 10 years ago in which Buffett suggested he could “end the deficit in five minutes” by disqualifying lawmakers based on the nation’s economic health.
In a post on X, Lee wrote, “It’s better to disqualify politicians than for an entire nation to suffer under the yoke of inflation.”
Lee is among a handful of GOP Senators who have pushed back on the President Trump’s tax reconciliation and spending cuts package as it’s currently written, arguing that the measure doesn’t go far enough to reduce the national deficit.
Lee added, “Federal spending has become excessive. The resulting inflation harms Americans and weaponizes government. The Senate can make this bill better. It must now do so.”
The practicality of removing all members of Congress from office at once remains in question, as does the likelihood of how much support would be found among current lawmakers.
The House of Representatives recently passed President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) which now awaits the Senate’s review and possible revision.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the Congressional spending bill, saying, “We have to bring this down gradually because we want to do two things. We want to cut and constrain spending and we want to grow the economy.”
Elon Musk, who has publicly rebuked federal lawmakers over the OBBB, calling it “debt slavery” has endorsed Buffett’s plan to fix the deficit crisis as well as pushing for greater government efficiency and accountability.
Despite internal disagreements over what other federal spending to cut, Republican leaders continue to push for completing work on the reconciliation bill in time to have it reach the president’s desk by July 4.
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