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Montana lawmakers still split on whether 'Convention of States' could solve Congress' gridlock • Daily Montanan [1]
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Date: 2025-07-18
Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, speaks to the Senate Republican caucus after it elected him to be Senate Majority Leader for the 2025 session at a meeting on Nov. 14, 2024. Soon-to-be Senate President Matt Regier looks on. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)
While Congress was debating the “big, beautiful budget bill,” Montana Senate Majority Leader Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, was sending texts to the state’s delegation about out-of-control spending.
Among the most controversial aspects of the federal bill was a budget-busting provision that would add trillions of dollars in debt to pay for tax breaks mostly aimed at the wealthy, something Montana’s senior Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican, said was essential in order to garner his support.
“Congress just has no ability to rein itself in,” McGillvray said. “So, it falls to the states to do it.”
McGillvray was once a state lawmaker who helped to clear Montana’s legislative decks of any proposal to hold a convention of the states or constitutional convention on any particular subject. Now, he believes a convention of the states, something mentioned in Article V of the U.S. Constitution, may be the only hope to righting the federal government.
It’s an idea he’s supported for the past couple of legislative sessions, but one that has not gained enough traction in Helena, with skeptics on both sides of the political spectrum. Part of that hesitancy stems from the convention of states itself: Of the 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, all of them have been passed by the same process: Congress proposing new amendments and states voting to ratify them.
Using the “convention of the states” model, which the founders of the republic had seen as a failsafe against Congressional dysfunction or tyranny, if two-thirds of the states apply for a convention — so far 19 have passed legislation to do so — then Congress would be obligated to convene the convention, but proposing new amendments would fall to delegates from the states. From there, though, opinions vary widely on what could happen next because the clause in the Constitution has not been tried.
The Constitution itself says that any proposed amendments could be passed if ratified by three-quarters of the states — or 38. Another interpretation of the article also suggests that three-quarters of the delegates at the convention of the states could ratify the amendments, leading to concerns of what is commonly called a “runaway” convention in which an unlimited number of amendments could be pushed through by a small number of state delegates.
But in Montana, and in many other states, the idea continues to bubble up occasionally and find supporters. It gains traction as frustrations with Congress seep down to the state level, often with lawmakers like McGillvray being tasked to clean up the confusion and unfunded mandates created by directives and legislation from D.C.
“Congress is out of control,” McGillvray said. “The (Department of Governmental Efficiency) is a perfect example. DOGE is doing the job of Congress, including finding waste, abuse and fraud and getting rid of it.”
He believes the political differences that separate Democrats and Republicans on most issues pale in comparison to an increasingly money hungry federal government which threatens the country’s stability.
“No matter which party is in control, Democrats or Republicans, no matter who is in control of Congress or the presidency, the entitlements continue to advance and they’re consuming the entire state,” McGillvray said.
He worries about a day when America’s economy craters under the weight of its debt.
“It’s the only solution to force fiscal constraints. Congress won’t do it. It’s too far gone with big money,” McGillvray said. “But states have been given an option and solution when Congress either cannot or will not.”
McGillvray, who spent his entire career in the finance sector, said that there are several options available to the states, including a balanced-budget amendment, something which is used by 49 states. He reasons that the federal government should have to live by some of the same financial rules as the states. Or, because balanced budgets can rob governments of the flexibility of needing to spend more heavily at certain times, McGillvray suggests a European style of “circuit breaker” for debt that forces budgets into a spending-taxing balance based upon a several-year period.
2025 session
In 2023, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum visited the Capitol to advocate for a balanced-budget and a convention of the states. This year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a one-time presidential hopeful, paired up with Montana Greg Gianforte to urge the Legislature to pass a resolution calling for a convention of states for the purpose of adding a balanced-budget amendment. Gianforte is no stranger to the concept, proposing as his first piece of legislation when he served in the U.S. House a bill that would have not paid members of Congress unless a balanced budget was passed. That idea was panned by Republicans and Democrats.
During a tour of states, which also included a similar pitch in Idaho, DeSantis urged support of some type of constitutional fix to Congress’ spending problem.
“People have gravitated to Montana. They have fled states that have performed poorly as a matter of policy, and they’ve gravitated to states like Florida and Montana, and I expect that to continue into the future,” said DeSantis. “… But ultimately the states are not going to be successful if federal spending and the Congress does not get under control.”
As in other sessions, though, efforts for both a convention of the states or a balanced-budget amendment through the more traditional constitutional amendment process fell short of much meaningful action.
In 2025, SJ4, a resolution considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, narrowly passed 5-to-4, but stalled on the floor of the Senate and was not voted upon before its deadline had expired. That resolution called for a convention of the states with the “sole purpose” to pass a balanced-budget amendment.
Later in the session, the Legislature supported SJ 9, a weaker statement which did not call for a convention, but rather urged Congress to pass a balanced-budget amendment, but didn’t call for any specific convention. It expressed alarm at the growing national debt and was sponsored by McGillvray.
A ‘runaway’ convention
Because a convention, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution, has never been tried, many scholars and some politicians worry about what has often been referred to as a “runaway” convention. The concern is that since there are so few rules about the convention, and no precedent, it could wind up making huge changes, upending the Constitutional republic. One of the concerns, for example, is that a convention may propose eliminating the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. Another concern, unrelated, is that there could be a movement to repeal the 17th amendment which allows for direct election of U.S. Senators, which opponents fear would be handed back to the Legislatures of each state respectively.
That particular concern is well-suited to Montana, which was largely responsible for the amendment, after bribery in the Montana Legislature led to the U.S. Senate refusing to seat Copper King and Sen. William Andrews Clark.
Other fears about “a runaway convention” swirl around how the amendments could be proposed: Would delegates be required to vote a certain way on certain amendments? Some states have laws that require a delegates to vote in accordance with their Legislatures; other states do not. And what happens if the convention proposes a topic that wasn’t planned? For example, what happens if states convene to discuss U.S. Senator elections and then drifts into abortion?
David Super, a Georgetown Law Professor, who recently spoke to journalists about this, noted that there are few guardrails specified by the sparse wording of the Constitution.
“Once a convention is called there’s nothing that really limits them,” Super said.
Anthony Gutierrez, the Executive Director of Common Cause in Texas, said that the idea of a convention gained traction, but has recently fallen out of favor with some conservatives in Texas, including the John Birch Society, which has historically opposed the idea.
“That conservative grassroots organizations are against this is a big deal,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jenny Guzman, Common Cause Program Director in Arizona, gave a recent example. Many in the Grand Canyon State want Congressional term limits. However, the idea for a convention of states has faced a cool public reception for one reason, she said.
“Once it’s called, there’s no guarantee that’s what they do, and then what happens when we pass other things and there are no term limits?” she asked.
However, McGillvray said that he believes the fears about a runaway convention are being made by people who support, and in some cases, even profit off the status quo. He said after researching the subject for years that the U.S. Constitution’s threshold for approval of amendments, requiring in this case three-quarters of the state, is an exceedingly high bar to clear. He can’t imagine controversial topics like repealing gun rights or even abortion garnering the support of that many states.
“You would never say it’s impossible,” McGillvray said. “But I’d say it would be next to impossible.”
He said that’s borne out by the various applications for constitutional amendments and convention of the states. Some states have passed resolutions to repeal the Roe vs. Wade decision, but that number has languished in the 20-states range for years. Even the balanced budget proposals are still short by a handful of states. And McGillvray points out that some states have even codified into law that their delegates couldn’t go beyond the scope of their application — even though it’s unclear if such a law would conflict with the Constitution itself.
For now, McGillvray remains a staunch support of such an idea because, as he sees it, there’s just no way that Congress will control itself, which has led him to support the idea of a balanced-budget tool and term limits that are more generous than previously, but would end the near-lifetime appointments, especially in the U.S. Senate.
“Until you control the money, you can’t control the power. You have to ask yourself why would anyone spend more than $200 million on a U.S. Senate seat in Montana? It’s about the power and the money,” McGillvray said.
Even in Montana, McGillvray admits calling a convention gets some press coverage, but often dies with other ideas at the Legislature. But, he’s noticed a warming on both side of the political aisle as things like finance, education and personal freedom become more threatened.
He said that many of his fellow lawmakers have experienced “political whiplash” where the executive branch rules by executive order, Congress is mired in gridlock, and businesses struggle with the uncertainty.
“I don’t like being ruled by executive order, I don’t care whether that’s Biden or Trump. It’s like every four years we get whiplash. That’s not good,” he said.
For a man who has spent his life in finance, he says most Americans don’t realize the debt level and what will happen even as the new Trump “big, beautiful bill” added trillions to it. He said a financial collapse is not theoretical, we can look to Europe — Spain, Italy and Greece — for what happens.
“You fear a runaway convention, but you don’t understand the threat that’s facing you,” McGillvray said, pointing to what could happen in the case of a default, meaning that America would not be able to pay its debt. “I don’t know if making this government work is possible. I guess the question is whether there is still honor among legislators.”
Reporter Micah Drew contributed to this story.
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