• A behind-the-scenes effort to force Congress to call a convention to amend the Constitution could end up helping President Donald Trump in his push to expand presidential power — or even run for a third term.
• The effort to amend the Constitution predates Trump’s second term but carries new weight as several members of the president’s inner circle have expressed support for a convention to limit federal government spending and power.
• A draft lawsuit obtained by WisconsinWatch and ProPublica argues Congress must call a convention. Liberal and conservative legal scholars have criticized the arguments in it, calling them “wild,” “completely illegitimate” and “deeply flawed.”
• Some states’ requests for a constitutional convention date back centuries. “It is absurd, on the face of it, that they could count something that had to do with Prohibition as a call for a constitutional convention in 2025,” former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, said.