Topline
Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)—two of the oldest and most revered members of their respective parties in the Senate—both appeared to suffer health episodes while performing their official duties this week, sparking concerns about their fitness to serve among fellow lawmakers and fresh conversations on social media about age caps for lawmakers, but the idea has never gained traction on Capitol Hill, even as the average age of Congress climbs.
Time to intervene: Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) reaches out to help Senate Minority Leader Mitch … [+] McConnell (R-Ky.) after McConnell inexplicably stood frozen in silence in the midst of a news conference after a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.
Key Facts
Polls show most Americans support maximum age limits for Congress members: 75% of respondents were in favor of the measure in a September Insider/Morning Consult poll, 73% said they supported age caps for all elected officials in an August YouGov/CBS poll, and 67% polled by Reuters/Ipsos in November said they believed in upper-age restrictions for Congress members and the president.
But the idea has never come to fruition in Washington, as even some of the youngest lawmakers in the current Congress who have voiced concerns about its gerontocratic nature have also expressed deference and respect for senior members and pointed to the value of their institutional knowledge: “She is one of the sharpest people I’ve ever met in my life,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) told Insider in December of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 83, while explaining why he’s against an age cap: “She has a command of the institution.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has advocated for term limits, but has said he is against age caps, telling Insider in September, “There’s probably a lot of wisdom to be gained with age,” while noting that term limits “wouldn’t necessarily lower the age of Congress . . . I just am a believer in people not staying here their whole lives,” he said.
At the same time, some among the younger generation of lawmakers have indicated that institutional structures linking tenure to power are the real issue, opposed to age: “If you are on a committee and want to chair it, you basically have to wait until almost everyone before you resigns or leaves office,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote on Instagram last year, referring to the longstanding tradition in the House of selecting committee leadership positions by seniority, adding: “That often takes decades.”
Seniority doesn’t just beget power within Congress—more senior lawmakers naturally have larger donor networks and more name recognition, among other advantages to winning an election over a first-time candidate.
Instilling age and/or term limits is also a logistically complicated process that would likely require a constitutional amendment, which would need either the votes of two thirds of both the Senate and the House, followed by approval from three fourths of state legislatures, or a request from two thirds of states followed by a constitutional convention in which three fourths of states must ratify the amendment.
Key Background
McConnell, 81, froze for approximately 19 seconds during a press conference Wednesday at the Capitol before he was ushered away by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). He returned after several minutes and told reporters he was fine, and an aide later said he felt “lightheaded.” McConnell, the longest-serving floor leader in Senate history, was absent from the Senate for six weeks earlier this year after falling in a Washington hotel and experiencing a concussion. After Wednesday’s episode, new reporting revealed he had fallen at least two other times this year: at an airport earlier this month, according to NBC, and and during a trip to Finland in February, CNN reported. McConnell, who survived polio as a child, previously underwent triple bypass heart surgery in 2003 and fractured his shoulder in 2019 after falling outside of his Louisville, Kentucky, home. A day after McConnell’s episode, Feinstein appeared confused during a roll-call vote, when instead of saying the customary “aye” or “nay,” she began reading preprepared remarks. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) was heard on the mic next to Feinstein telling her, “Just say, ‘Aye,’” before Feinstein cast her vote with a slight chuckle. Feinstein returned to Washington in May visibly frail and in a wheelchair after more than a two-month-long absence while she recovered from a bout with shingles that led to a brain condition that can cause permanent damage. Aides have raised concerns over the past several years about her memory issues, but she has repeatedly expressed her intent to serve out the remainder of her term and retire at the end of next year, despite mounting calls for her resignation, primarily among progressive House lawmakers.
Tangent
Federal lawmakers, largely Republicans, have proposed a series of failed efforts to enforce term limits. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) introduced legislation that would have begun the process to impose term limits in 2017, 2019, 2021 and again in February, which would limit senators to two six-year terms and members of the House of Representatives to three two-year terms. In the 1990s, dozens of states attempted to enact limits for their federal representatives, but the Supreme Court in 1995 ruled the measures were unconstitutional.
Chief Critic
A spokesperson for McConnell told Politico Thursday the senator plans to serve out the duration of his term until the end of 2026.
Crucial Quote
A McConnell ally, speaking on the condition of anonymity to NBC News, said there are murmurings that McConnell should step down and disclosed that it often appears that “he is just not processing” conversations. The senator told the network he hopes McConnell steps away “in a dignified way—for his own legacy and reputation.”
Big Number
The average age in Congress has ticked up steadily over the past two decades and now stands at 59 between both the House and the Senate, which has the highest median age, 65, in history, according to FiveThirtyEight, while the median age in the House is just under 58.
Contra
The average age of Congress has increased along with that of the U.S. population as a whole. The share of the U.S. population 65 and older grew at five times the rate of the total population between 1920 and 2020, according to the Census Bureau, which found the age group accounted for about 17% of the population in 2020. The decade beginning in 2010 produced the largest-ever spike in the 65-plus population, gaining 15.5 million people, representing nearly a 4% increase over ten years. The trend is largely driven by aging baby boomers and a decline in birth rates.
Further Reading
Mitch McConnell Abruptly Freezes And Leaves Press Conference—Aide Says He Felt ‘Lightheaded’ (Forbes)
Feinstein Appeared Deeply Confused—Had To Be Reminded To Vote In Senate Hearing (Forbes)
As McConnell Tries to Convey Business as Usual, His Future Is in Doubt (The New York Times)
