Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday urged the Idaho state legislature to approve a resolution demanding Congress call a never-before-seen convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.
DeSantis, who will be in Montana later Monday, is embarking on a western tour to pressure state governments into approving a resolution that would force Congress to call a constitutional convention to add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. This would be the first constitutional convention in history.
Standing alongside Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, in the Gem State's capitol, DeSantis's visit follows a summer report by the Congressional Budget Office, which found that the federal government will be over $56 trillion in national debt in the next decade.
"Idaho has an opportunity to certify this proposed amendment under Article V of the Constitution," DeSantis said, noting that 27 other states—including Florida—of the mandatory 34 to trigger a constitutional convention have already approved the call. "I think if you got to 33 states, Congress would see the writing on the wall, and I think they would rush to write an amendment."
As of Monday, the national debt stands at $36.6 trillion—and it's climbing. The CBO report, issued in June, predicts it will top $56 trillion by 2034. Although the country hasn't had a balanced budget since President Bill Clinton, the national deficit recently deepened due to billions in foreign aid to Israel and Ukraine, and the billions canceled in student loan debt.
This triggered the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump. Agency head Elon Musk, a tech billionaire, has promised to find and cut $1 to $2 trillion in federal spending, a goal that has raised concerns over cuts to social security, federal jobs, and healthcare.
What is a Constitutional Convention?
A constitutional convention, also called an Article V convention, is another path to amending the U.S. Constitution. Congress must call it if 34 states (two-thirds) ask for it. Once it convenes, delegates may propose amendments.
The issue? It's never happened before.
Opponents, like the non-profit watchdog group Common Cause, worry that the lack of precedent could lead to a lawless convention allowing a "rewrite" of the Constitution.
"The delegates could write amendments that revoke any of our most cherished rights – like our right to peaceful protest, our freedom of religion, or our right to privacy," the organization wrote in March 2024, a month after Florida approved its Convention call.
All 27 amendments in the U.S. Constitution have been proposed by a two-thirds vote in both Congressional chambers before being ratified by three-fourths of the states. This hasn't stopped states from trying to call a convention, however, particularly surrounding an amendment demanding Congress be fiscally responsible and not spend money they don't have.
Florida, for example, passed resolutions in 2010, 2014, and 2024 calling for an Article V Convention regarding a balanced budget, most recently being joined by 26 other states. If Idaho and Montana—the states DeSantis has and will visit on Monday—approve their resolutions, it would bring the total to 29.
This is just five short of the convention's threshold.
"I just think the founding fathers put Article V in for a reason," DeSantis said Monday. "They understood that there would be a time where the governing class was just insulated from the best interests of the country."
DeSantis will speak alongside Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte at 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time.
