A commentary by Rep. Anne Gay Donworth
We can’t play chicken with the Constitution.
Last month, the Commonwealth of Kentucky received a visit from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis promoting House Concurrent Resolution 45 (HCR 45) calling for a Convention of the States under Article V of the United States Constitution.
Supporters of the resolution are asking for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring the federal government to pass a balanced budget – laudable, in theory, except that 11 Nobel-Prize winning economists agree that it isn’t solid fiscal policy. Proponents argue that the U.S. is spending too much of its budget paying interest on the constantly growing national debt. They are calling for states to formally request a constitutional amendment by calling a Convention of the States under Article V of the Constitution. They claim states could require delegates to only address the single issue for which the Convention was called.
Here’s the fundamental problem: Article V doesn’t specify how a Convention of the States works. In fact, it says that, once called, it “shall be valid to all intents and purposes.” Simply put, that means that once a Convention of the States is opened, there is no way to control the process.
With no clarification in Article V about how convention delegates would be selected, legislative supermajorities could select delegates who want to do away with certain amendments – perhaps reverting back to 3/5 of a person? Or maybe repealing women’s right to vote? Or the 1st amendment guaranteeing our right to free speech, press, assembly, or religion?
It could go even further than that. The last time that our country held a Convention of States was in 1787. Delegates gathered in Philadelphia to amend the federal government’s charter document, except they didn’t do that. They started from scratch, and the resulting document, the Constitution of the United States of America, has served us well for nearly 250 years. They also changed the approval process – making it easier to pass than the original Articles of Confederation required. There would be no stopping a Convention of the States from similarly changing the rules, potentially in ways that permanently alter the structure of our government
We have amended the Constitution 27 times – never once using the Convention of the States. Gov. DeSantis testified that any time a convention of the states has picked up momentum, Congress has stepped in to propose the amendment so “they can maintain control of the language.” Congress, it seems, understands how dangerous a Convention of the States could be for our democracy.
DeSantis wants Kentucky to call for a Convention of the States to pressure Congress to call its own amendment with a two-third majority of both houses approving the amendment. Given the hyper-partisan nature of our government, I don’t trust Congress to reach an agreement on anything, let alone a constitutional amendment.
DeSantis claimed that the Convention of the States effort is not a partisan issue, but the map of states who have called for the Convention is nearly an exact match to the electoral map. This shows that the Convention is most definitely a partisan issue.
The other problem? The most recent increase in the national debt ceiling came from the Republican party. Republicans, including long-time debt hawk Andy Barr, backed President Trump’s 2025 Budget Bill that raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. When I asked our current Congressman and Senate candidate to vote against raising the debt ceiling, he responded “we need growth and this is jet fuel.”
After years of calling for fiscal responsibility, Congressman Barr reversed course and supported President Trump’s plan to the contrary.
In an era of political leaders bending to the will of party leadership, how could we trust that delegates to a Constitutional Convention would be faithful to the people they represent rather than the special interests who contribute to their campaigns?
I am not willing to risk our entire system of governance just to put pressure on Congress – an entity which consistently cannot function as intended. Our Constitution is too important to play a game of political chicken.
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Rep. Anne Gay Donworth represents Kentucky’s 76th House District in Lexington.
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