While older members of leadership in the House and the Senate are retiring, some from the Silent Generation say their seniority is still a boon for their districts.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 85, is heading for the exits after nearly four decades in Congress. So is her longtime deputy, Rep. Steny Hoyer, 86, and former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, 83.
But of the two dozen members of the Silent Generation now serving in the 119th Congress, more than half (13) have decided to run again in 2026, according to an NBC News review.
In total, this Congress is the third-oldest in U.S. history, with an average age of 58.9 years at the start of this session one year ago. The median age in the U.S. is 39.1.
The Democratic Party needs to learn from the GOP and build a"farm team"
At every age, there should be a cognitive test to qualify for public office at each election, at every level, including local.
Fetterman had a stroke in his early 50s, which left him impaired. It’s not only about age, and age doesn’t necessarily mean one is impaired. Bernie is doing fine, and I suspect several of the over-80’s running for office now are fine, too. But, not all of them.
Age is not a strong enough determiner of mental impairment to disqualify one from running for office, it’s just a convenient one. This isn’t an argument for the status quo, there are better ways, and we should use those, instead of age.
EDIT: Furthermore, if you want actual change and aren’t just here to bash on old people because they’re old, you need to realize that since Congress IS populated by old people, and will continue to be so, the chances of passing an age limit law are practically nil. BUT, I suspect some sort of cognitive impairment test could pass. However, since it would need to be a Constitutional amendment, the battle is long and uphill.
Finally, my motivation. I’m 60, BUT I happen to agree that younger people would be better at running the country. Because, younger people are less jaded, and more empathetic. Also, as a Democratic Socialist, I don’t want people like Bernie to be unjustly disqualified by age. And, I will happily vote for AOC should she appear on my ballot for any office in the future.
Bill Clinton, lil Bush, and trump were all born in 1946, Biden in 1942.
With the exception of Obama (1961) it’s pretty fucking ridiculous we just keep moving the bar up for what an acceptable age is to placitate boomers.
It was bad enough 30 years ago before the dementia set in.
By law, the age limit to serve should match the retirement age, as per the Social Security Administration rules of 2025. So, you cannot run for office if you are 67 or older, and you cannot serve beyond your 70th birthday.
I don’t get why? As long as people are not cognitively impaired, why should they be prevented from working?
If anything, as science and medical breakthroughs come online, it might be feasible that people can work into their 90s and beyond.
Two reasons. First, it’s just good policy. You want your representative government to remain representative, especially to those who support the existence of the government, ie those who work and pay taxes. The ideas and the facts of every day life are very different for a 45 year old and a 75 year old. “What about the 25 year old?” you might ask. It is far more likely for a 45 or 55 year old to interact on a regular basis, socially, and at the work place, than it is for a 75/year old to do so. You want people who either live or know people that live the everyday circumstances that affect us all.
Second. The brain shrinkage goes into high gear after the age of 60. Even if you are not obviously cognitively impaired, you are also not at your best, and you never will.
This is a quick search result but there are a lot of other sources. It is well documented.
This next thing is my life experience, and not in any way meant as proof. My father is a well known and formerly brilliant legal mind. He’s argued im front of the Supreme Court multiple times. He has beenan athlete since well before I was born and even though he was also born in the 1940’s, he still runs five miles every day. Every, fucking day. He does not have dementia. He does not have Alzheimer’s. He will likely outlive me. And yet, I noticed some years ago that he is not sharp. The decline has been especially pronounced in the past decade. Is he still smarter than many? Sure. But he is not the man (had he been in office) that I voted for 20 years ago. He is also, as much as he tries to stay informed with current events, painfully out of touch with the needs of anyone younger than 60 (including me).
Get those geriatrics out of politics. They will never let go, they need to be shown the door. Fire the ineffective old geezers and get some new blood in the system.
Again, I think people are focusing on the wrong thing.
JD Vance and Marco are “new blood”. So is Gaetz. That Nick Fuentes guy is very young. Before he was murdered, Charlie Kirk was very young as well.
I don’t want any of that trash running anything.
This is all the wrong focus, but I expect nothing less than inter-generational hatred to be stoked by the corporate media to make sure people don’t have their eye on the ball…
If anything, as lifespan/healthspan gets extended, we’ll see even more people that are 80+ in Congress.
What would your focus be on?
Ya know their policies and fighting on the right side of the class war.
