Civics question 37 of 128
The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?
2 accepted answers
- (Because of) the 22nd Amendment
- To keep the president from becoming too powerful
You only need to give one of these. The officer accepts any of them.
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
The answer is the Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1951, and the reason behind it is to keep any one president from becoming too powerful. For a century and a half the two-term limit was only a custom. George Washington declined a third term in 1796 and every successor followed his example until Franklin D. Roosevelt won four elections between 1932 and 1944. Congress responded by writing the custom into the Constitution. The amendment allows two elected terms, and a vice president who finishes more than two years of someone else's term may then be elected only once, capping service at ten years. Note what the limit does not cover: senators and representatives face no term limits at all, and neither do federal judges, who hold office for life.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of System of Government, inside the American Government section of the test.
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