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Time for Age Limits [1]
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Date: 2025-03-19
On Friday we leave to visit my in-laws. We added this extra visit because at this point, every visit may be our last with my father-in-law. That’s always true of course and now we’ve entered the stage of it becoming likely. It’s bittersweet going.
My father-in-law is a good man. He’s always been responsible, hard working, and capable. When my wife was young he worked the night shift and ran a side business hauling for local farms and businesses. At his 80th surprise birthday party former colleagues and clients returned to honor him.
As a young man he served in the army, stationed in Germany and Turkey during the Cold War. One of his jobs was to observe Russian air and naval movements across the Black Sea. As a newly retired man, he helped care for his sister-in-law who had lost function on one side of her body. Many of my memories of him are him patiently supporting her as she shuffled into and out of a home.
It’s been hard for him to age. He had just had a heart attack 20 years ago just before I met him. Since that time, first his physical health declined, then, more recently, his memory and mental ability followed. Now we think he mostly knows who we are, but sometimes I’m not sure. He doesn’t remember how to go to places he’s been to hundreds of times. He’s only comfortable around a few people and gets agitated in unfamiliar surroundings.
For a while he was angry. Upset that people “never told him anything anymore”. Resentful that his doctor wanted him to drink water to stay hydrated instead of existing on coffee and that his wife sided with his doctor. I’m sure for someone who lived his life as the person other people depended on, losing his independence and having to depend on others was really difficult and I’m sure I only have the tiniest idea of what it’s really like.
And my father-in-law lived a pretty normal life. Appreciated by family, neighbors, and those he worked with. Not famous. No power, no influence. I can imagine how extra terrible it would to age when in addition to the physical and mental decline, one also must concede the power and influence a Representative, Senator, Supreme Court Justice, or President holds.
And so as much as I still believe President Biden’s insistence on running again led directly to President Trump’s return to power, I sympathize with the agony of the decision. Biden might be the most important example, but it’s not just him. Ruth Bader Ginsburg stayed on rather than retire at 90. Representative Raul Grijalva ran again with a cancer diagnosis. Senator Dianne Feinstein held onto power while suffering from dementia and then died in office. Not is this solely a Democratic problem. Representative Kay Granger finished her term in a nursing home. Remember Senator McConnell freezing up during an interview?
Whether because they stay on for selfish or selfless reasons, we as Democrats, and as Americans shouldn’t leave the decision solely to our elected and appointed leaders. Not only are leaders biased when self-evaluating their own abilities, but they’ve shown little appetite to tell the truth to their political allies or to the public. 14 members of our Senate Caucus are 73 or older. Only one has announced she will not run for reelection. The likelihood of either a quick decline or a medical issue that robs constituents of their representation is high. It’s time to demand age limits. First for the Party, and then legislatively (and perhaps Constitutionally).
This will not be without cost. Many leaders continue to be effective even into their 80s and in rare occasions 90s. However the relative cost of losing Speaker Pelosi or Senator Sanders is much lower than the relative benefit of replacing a late-stage Feinstein or diseased official with a living, competent elected official.
Moreover, age limits will speed up the turnover of the American political class. Part of the public distrust in Congress and in our institutions is that Congress and government institutions don’t effectively work for them. Representatives and Senators who have been in the game for decades make poor communicators for reform.
(Below is the age of each Democratic Senator plus Sanders and King. I’m not sure what the best age would be for a mandatory retirement or perhaps if there should be stages. For example, only Senators younger than 70 are eligible for leadership. Senators in their 70s only retain seniority on one Committee assignment. Senators must be younger than 74 on election day to be eligible to run for the Senate. I am clear though I don’t want to see Senator Schumer run for reelection at age 77.)
Sanders (I) 83
Durbin 80
King (I) 80
Blumenthal 79
Shaheen 78 (will not seek reelection)
Markey 78
Hirono 77
Welch 77
Wyden 75
Reed 75
Warren 75
Murray 74
Schumer 74
Hickenlooper 73, ‘20
Warner 70, ‘20
Whitehouse 69, ‘24
Markley 68, ‘20
Rosen 67, ‘24
Kaine 67, ‘24
Hassan 67, ‘22
Smith 67, ‘26 (will not seek reelection)
Cantwell 66, ‘24
Peters 66, ‘20 (will not seek reelection)
Van Hollen 66, ‘22
Klobuchar 64
Schiff 64
Baldwin 63
Blunt Rochester 63
Coons 61
Cortez Masto 61
Kelly 61
Bennet 60
Gillibrand 58
Duckworth 57
Fetterman 55
Booker 55
Warnock 55
Alsobrooks 54
Heinrich 53
Ray Lujan 52
Schatz 52
Padilla 52
Murphy 51
Slotkin 48
Gallego 45
Kim 42
Ossoff 38
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