Latest news with #constitutionalAmendment
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump ally proposes shocking Elon Musk-backed move to keep Congress accountable for inflation
One Republican senator is proposing a move that may cost himself and his colleagues their jobs if enacted. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) is proposing a constitutional amendment that would expel all members of Congress whenever inflation is over 3 percent. 'I'm drafting a constitutional amendment To oust every member of Congress Whenever inflation exceeds 3% It's better to disqualify politicians Than for an entire nation to suffer under the yoke of inflation Please let me know what you think And share if you like the idea,' Lee posted on X Wednesday evening. Lee's proposal gained praise from billionaire Elon Musk, who, borrowing a line from the Star Wars Mandalorians, reposted Lee's idea for the amendment with a comment of 'This is the way.' Lee's idea is one that has previously been articulated by another billionaire - Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffet. In a decades old video clip, shared by Lee, Buffet says 'I can end the deficit in five minutes. Just pass a law that says that any time there's a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for reelection.' Lee is one of several Senate Republicans who doesn't support President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' of a spending package which is currently headed to the U.S. Senate after being passed by the House of Representatives back in May. Lee and Musk also joined forces earlier in the week to describe the bill as 'debt slavery' in a back and forth exchange on X. Well said, @elonmusk — Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) June 4, 2025 The U.S. inflation rate is currently 2.31 percent, but was at the 3 percent mark in January when Trump took office. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is another member of Trump's own party who opposes the substantial additions to the deficit included in the current Republican spending package. New additions to the the national debt are a non-starter for Paul, who has noted that he does want to see the 2017 tax cuts made permanent. Paul has also described the current $5 trillion in new debt as 'Biden spending levels.' 'This will be the largest increase in the debt ceiling ever in our history. We've never raised the debt ceiling without meeting the target. You can say it doesn't directly add to the debt but if you reach the ceiling you'll meet that. We won't discuss it for a year or two. I think it is a terrible idea to do this' Paul told Fox News. Appearing On CBS' Face the Nation last weekend, Paul told host Margaret Brennan that the math in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' 'doesn't really add up.' 'Well, the math doesn't really add up. One of the things this big and beautiful bill is, is it's a vehicle for increasing spending for the military and for the border. It's about $320 billion in new spending,' Paul said. In a nod to Musk and his budget slashing efforts across federal agencies, Paul compared the spending package with the funds anticipated to be saved by spending cuts pushed for by the Depart of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 'That's more than all the DOGE cuts that we found so far. So, the increase in spending put into this bill exceeds the DOGE cuts. When you look just at the border wall, they have $46.5 billion for the border wall,' Paul said on Face the Nation.
Arab News
30-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
South Korean presidential frontrunner Lee Jae-myun proposes revising constitution on martial law
SEOUL: South Korea's left-wing presidential frontrunner Lee Jae-myung proposed on Friday to amend the constitution to make it more difficult to impose martial law, aiming to prevent political crises like the one that erupted last year. As candidates entered their final stretch before the snap presidential election on June 3, Lee and his Democratic Party urged South Koreans to come out to vote to end the political turmoil that has gripped the country since ousted conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration in December. 'Our national prestige has fallen, but it (martial law) happens. We have to make that impossible systematically,' Lee told a live-streaming talk show on YouTube. 'Overcoming the insurrection (crisis) is no-brainer. Without it, our country will collapse,' Lee said, adding that economic growth and unity would be among his other top priorities. Lee said he would seek to revise the constitution to strengthen martial law requirements, for instance by not allowing leaders to implement martial law without getting parliament's approval within 24 hours. More South Koreans turned out for early voting on Friday after reaching record numbers on Thursday. Early voting ends at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Friday. As of noon on Friday, 25.8 percent of eligible voters had voted, the highest turnout compared to other polls in the same period. Lee also said a special prosecutor should investigate the December 3 martial law incident to make sure those responsible were punished, although he called for leniency for those in the military who were reluctant to follow orders. Yoon Yeo-jun, chair of the Democratic Party's election campaign, said that the vote would be an opportunity to set the country right so that the 'Yoon Suk Yeol tragedy would never happen again.' Kim Moon-soo, Lee's rival candidate from the conservative People Power Party, said he would stop 'legislative dictatorship' by Lee's Democratic Party that holds a majority in parliament.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
South Korean presidential frontrunner proposes revising constitution on martial law
By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's left-wing presidential frontrunner Lee Jae-myung proposed on Friday to amend the constitution to make it more difficult to impose martial law, aiming to prevent political crises like the one that erupted last year. As candidates entered their final stretch before the snap presidential election on June 3, Lee and his Democratic Party urged South Koreans to come out to vote to end the political turmoil that has gripped the country since ousted conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration in December. "Our national prestige has fallen, but it (martial law) happens. We have to make that impossible systematically," Lee told a live-streaming talkshow on YouTube. "Overcoming the insurrection (crisis) is no-brainer. Without it, our country will collapse," Lee said, adding that economic growth and unity would be among his other top priorities. Lee said he would seek to revise the constitution to strengthen martial law requirements, for instance by not allowing leaders to implement martial law without getting parliament's approval within 24 hours. More South Koreans turned out for early voting on Friday after reaching record numbers on Thursday. Early voting ends at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Friday. As of noon on Friday, 25.8% of eligible voters had voted, the highest turnout compared to other polls in the same period. Lee also said a special prosecutor should investigate the December 3 martial law incident to make sure those responsible were punished, although he called for leniency for those in the military who were reluctant to follow orders. Yoon Yeo-jun, chair of the Democratic Party's election campaign, said that the vote would be an opportunity to set the country right so that the "Yoon Suk Yeol tragedy would never happen again." Kim Moon-soo, Lee's rival candidate from the conservative People Power Party, said he would stop "legislative dictatorship" by Lee's Democratic Party that holds a majority in parliament.
Reuters
30-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
South Korean presidential frontrunner proposes revising constitution on martial law
SEOUL, May 30 (Reuters) - South Korea's left-wing presidential frontrunner Lee Jae-myung proposed on Friday to amend the constitution to make it more difficult to impose martial law, aiming to prevent political crises like the one that erupted last year. As candidates entered their final stretch before the snap presidential election on June 3, Lee and his Democratic Party urged South Koreans to come out to vote to end the political turmoil that has gripped the country since ousted conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration in December. "Our national prestige has fallen, but it (martial law) happens. We have to make that impossible systematically," Lee told a live-streaming talkshow on YouTube. "Overcoming the insurrection (crisis) is no-brainer. Without it, our country will collapse," Lee said, adding that economic growth and unity would be among his other top priorities. Lee said he would seek to revise the constitution to strengthen martial law requirements, for instance by not allowing leaders to implement martial law without getting parliament's approval within 24 hours. More South Koreans turned out for early voting on Friday after reaching record numbers on Thursday. Early voting ends at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Friday. As of noon on Friday, 25.8% of eligible voters had voted, the highest turnout compared to other polls in the same period. Lee also said a special prosecutor should investigate the December 3 martial law incident to make sure those responsible were punished, although he called for leniency for those in the military who were reluctant to follow orders. Yoon Yeo-jun, chair of the Democratic Party's election campaign, said that the vote would be an opportunity to set the country right so that the "Yoon Suk Yeol tragedy would never happen again." Kim Moon-soo, Lee's rival candidate from the conservative People Power Party, said he would stop "legislative dictatorship" by Lee's Democratic Party that holds a majority in parliament.
Malay Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
‘Decentralise power': South Koreans eye historic constitutional change in wake of crisis
SEOUL, May 26 — South Korea's political crisis has ignited bipartisan calls for constitutional amendments to reshape the power of the president, an issue hotly debated ahead of the June 3 snap election. The election was called after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office over his shock martial law decree in December, and contenders from the major parties have vowed to pursue constitutional reforms. 'Chances to succeed in a constitutional amendment are higher than ever,' said Chae Jin-won, a professor at Kyunghee University's Institute of Public Governance. The constitution was last revised in 1987 to introduce direct presidential elections and a single, five-year term. Changes have long been debated but never implemented. Frontrunner Lee Jae-myung, of the liberal Democratic Party, has proposed four years in office and two consecutive terms for presidents who would take office from 2030 and onwards, a run-off system for presidential elections and parliamentary nomination on the prime minister. 'The responsibility of the president should be strengthened and powers should be decentralised,' he said on May 18. Kim Moon-soo, presidential nominee from the conservative People Power Party, has also unveiled a reform proposal including a four-year, two-term presidential system for future presidents. He promised to cut his own term down to three years if he is elected as the next leader so presidential and general elections could happen in the same year from 2028. He also pledged to strike down presidential immunity. Yoon was a member of the PPP until he resigned from the party on May 17. In recent years, presidential candidates from across the political spectrum have supported revisions including giving presidents two four-year terms, but there have been few concrete steps after new leaders were chosen. A Gallup Korea opinion survey last month found 67 per cent of respondents supported revising the constitution to fix the presidential system, with 21 per cent saying it is unnecessary. In April, Lee rejected a proposal by Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the parliament, to hold a referendum on constitutional reform on the June 3 presidential election day. At the time Lee said ending the political turmoil was the top priority. South Korea's presidential candidates, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party, Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party pose for photograph ahead of the second televised debate for the upcoming presidential election in Seoul, South Korea May 23, 2025. — Reuters pic The next president should begin to gather public consensus based on election pledges for the constitutional amendment and move forward with bipartisan support, he told reporters yesterday. Kim and his party criticised Lee for not pledging to reduce the term for the next presidency, but Lee said stable governance and economic recovery would be more important for the next leader than spending much of the term only on the constitutional revision. Professor Chae said while Lee and Kim shared similar goals, the two contenders were driven by differing motivations. 'I think candidate Kim put forward the idea of a transitional government to revise the constitution as a way to apologise for the martial law,' he said. 'Candidate Lee initially didn't want to jump to it, not to divert attention toward him, but now he is saying it to bring in more moderate voters.' — Reuters
