Presidents’ Day Is About Constitutional Limits, Not Personal Power

On Presidents’ Day, we do not celebrate unchecked authority. We celebrate constitutional restraint. George Washington set the most important precedent in American history when he voluntarily stepped down after two terms. He could have remained in power. Instead, he chose the republic over personal rule. That act established a norm later codified in the Twenty-Second Amendment, which limits presidents to two elected terms. The American presidency was designed with guardrails — separation of powers, checks and balances, term limits, and the peaceful transfer of power. These are not partisan ideas. They are structural protections against concentrated authority. The peaceful transfer of power, in particular, is one of the defining features of our constitutional system. After the 2020 election, courts reviewed challenges, states certified their results, and Congress fulfilled its constitutional duty to certify the Electoral College. That process — regardless of political preference — reflected the rule of law in action. Undermining public confidence in certified elections weakens the foundation of the republic. Presidents’ Day should remind us that loyalty to the Constitution must always exceed loyalty to any individual officeholder. No president is above constitutional limits. No branch may abdicate its responsibility to enforce them. Congress plays a central role in preserving those limits. Through oversight, legislation, and its constitutional powers, you are entrusted with defending the separation of powers and ensuring that executive authority remains bounded by law. This holiday is an opportunity to reaffirm a simple principle: America rejects elective monarchy. Power is temporary. The Constitution endures. I urge you, on this Presidents’ Day, to publicly recommit to defending constitutional guardrails — including respect for certified elections, adherence to presidential term limits, and the preservation of checks and balances that prevent any one person from accumulating unchecked power. That is the legacy we honor today.