Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) has introduced a resolution to repeal the 17th Amendment.

The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of U.S. senators in each state.

Before, senators were appointed by state legislatures.

The 17th Amendment reads:

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

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This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

“The 17th Amendment has created a Senate that violates the intent of the Constitution—allowing senators to be more beholden to Washington than the states they claim to represent,” Self said.

“We need to repeal the 17th Amendment to restore the Constitution’s original balance of power, strengthen federalism, and make the Senate accountable to the states it was designed to represent,” he added.

More from the Washington Examiner:

Self argues repealing the amendment would restore the “constitutional balance and make the Senate more accountable to the people of Texas and every other state in the union.”

Reps. Eric Burlison (R-MO), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Andy Harris (R-MD), Scott Perry (R-PA), Mary Miller (R-IL), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Sheri Biggs (R-SC), and Michael Cloud (R-TX) are all co-sponsors of the measure.

Gosar wrote in a statement that Self’s joint resolution, which would hand the selection of senators back over to state legislatures, would “restore an important constitutional check, strengthen state sovereignty, and help bring accountability back to an institution that too often obstructs meaningful reform.”

“The Founders intended the Senate to be the voice of the states in our federal system, not a perpetual roadblock to the will of the American people,” Gosar wrote.

Higgins argued the 17th Amendment allowed “big money” to twist Senate races into “circus acts.”

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“The current system has given us six-year politicians more focused on national ambitions and the institution of the U.S. Senate than on the states they serve,” Self said, according to the outlet.

“Our Founding Fathers designed the Senate to protect state sovereignty and act as a check on federal overreach. If senators are supposed to represent their states, then the states should choose them,” he added.

Newsmax has more:

The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, replaced the Constitution’s original system under which state legislatures appointed senators.

Supporters of the amendment argued direct elections reduced corruption and legislative deadlocks that had left Senate seats vacant, while advocates of repeal contend the original system better preserved state influence in the federal government.

Repealing the amendment would require approval by two-thirds of both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states.

 

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