Nine House Republicans Introduce Bill to Repeal 17th Amendment
A proposal to return U.S. Senate elections to state legislatures would require ratification by three-fourths of states — a threshold no constitutional amendment has cleared since 1992.
Nine Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation to repeal the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, according to reporting by the Daily Caller published July 4, 2026. The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, established the direct popular election of U.S. senators, replacing the original constitutional mechanism under Article I, Section 3, which granted state legislatures the power to choose their state's two senators.
The bill's sponsors argue that returning Senate selection to state legislatures would restore a structural check on federal power originally designed by the framers. The names and district affiliations of all nine sponsors are listed in the congressional record accompanying the bill's introduction; the specific bill number was not confirmed in available source material at time of publication. The Congressional Record and the House Clerk's office would contain the full text and co-sponsor list.
Repeal of any constitutional amendment requires passage by a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress and subsequent ratification by three-fourths — currently 38 — of state legislatures, per Article V of the U.S. Constitution. No constitutional amendment has been ratified since the 27th Amendment was certified on May 7, 1992, according to the National Archives. Previous legislative efforts to repeal the 17th Amendment have not advanced beyond introduction in recent Congresses; a search of Congress.gov for prior sessions would show the comparative history of such proposals.
The proposal arrives as a separate Gallup survey, released in the days surrounding the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence on July 4, 2026, found that 64 percent of Americans report pride in their country, with 53 percent describing themselves as 'very' or 'extremely' proud, according to Gallup's published results. The survey did not include a question on the 17th Amendment specifically.
What remains unknown at time of publication includes the full list of co-sponsors, the assigned bill number, whether any Senate companion legislation has been introduced, and whether any House committee has scheduled a hearing. The House Judiciary Committee's published calendar and Congress.gov bill tracking would be the authoritative public records to answer those questions.