Both houses of Congress are overly “elderly”, and polls indicate Americans want an age cap and term limits, in order to modernize the institution, and make it relevant to the younger generations which feel they are not adequately represented.
The average member of the House of Representatives is 58, and in the Senate, it is 65, and the present Congress is the third oldest in US history.
Fortunately, some members who are elderly are retiring, and a few have passed away, but still there are cases of members who simply do not believe in the concept of retirement.
So we have Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, nearing age 93 in September, who is Senate President Pro Tempore, third in line of Presidential succession, who would have become President if a horrible tragedy had occurred at the recent White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in late April.
There are some members of Congress who are effective at an advanced age, but public office should not be a lifetime job, and it would inspire more younger Americans to vote if they could see people they can relate to, in public office.
An age limit of 75 seems reasonable, and thankfully, there are younger contenders running for election in the Midterm Elections of 2026, as this blogger has written about before.
Hopefully, there will be a “youth wave” moving forward, and many of these seekers of becoming part of Congress succeed in November.