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Washington: America’s gerontocracy is on full display in the nation’s capital.
There’s 80-year-old Joe Biden, whose occasional gaffes and falls have fuelled suggestions from critics that the oldest US president in history should not be seeking another term in the White House.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze during a press conference.Credit: AP
There’s Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, 81, who had to be escorted away after freezing for 23 seconds during a press conference this week, reigniting fears about his health.
And on Friday (AEST) in Washington, 90-year-old Democrat Dianne Feinstein unexpectedly began reciting a speech during a vote in the Senate, and had to be told by colleagues to “just say ‘Aye’” .
As the oldest representative in Congress, Feinstein has faced numerous questions about her fitness for office, with members of her own party urging her to resign after an extended absence from work following a shingles diagnosis in February.
Californian Democrat Dianne Feinstein, 90, is the oldest member of the US Congress.Credit: AP
She returned to work in June and does not plan to recontest the next election but has long appeared frail and occasionally confused.
This seemed to be the case during a Senate hearing when the Californian was meant to cast her vote on a defence bill, requiring her to simply say “Aye” or “Nay” when her name was called.
When she didn’t answer, one of her colleagues prompted her multiple times to vote, but she instead started reading prepared remarks to support the legislation.
An aide then went to her side to guide her to vote; followed by fellow Senator Patty Murray.
“Just say ’Aye,” Murray urged her.
The awkward moment, coupled with the unnerving episode involving McConnell the day before, has reignited the debate about whether some of the most powerful people in US politics should still be in office.
Congressional research shows the average age of members in the current US Senate is 64 years, while the average age of members in the House of Representatives is 57.9 years. But many members are over 80, including Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley (89); progressive stalwart Bernie Sanders (81) and former speaker Nancy Pelosi (83). While age doesn’t necessarily determine ability, is it time for a new generation?
Some politicians and political aspirants seem to think so.
“America is not past our prime – it’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” former UN ambassador Nikki Haley declared when she launched her candidacy for the presidency earlier this year.
Then US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley with Donald Trump in the White House in 2018.Credit: AP
“In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire. We’ll have term limits for Congress. And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”
The remark was undeniably aimed at Biden, who has become so accustomed to people criticising his age and his ability to do his job that he has taken to joking about it at events.
“A lot of you are tired,” the president told the crowd at a community safety summit in Connecticut recently. “I get it. Try being 110.”
But 51-year-old Haley could have also been taking a veiled swipe at her former boss, Donald Trump, who is now 77 and the overwhelming frontrunner to win the Republican nomination to contest the 2024 election against Biden.
Trump, however, has backed her idea and even went one step further when it comes to contenders for the White House, posting on his Truth Social platform that “ANYBODY running for the Office of President of the United States should agree to take a full & complete Mental Competency Test” no matter how old they are.
“Being an outstanding president requires great mental acuity & physical stamina,” he wrote. “If you don’t have these qualities or traits, it is likely you won’t succeed. MAGA!”
But what about members of Congress, where Senators are elected for six-year terms and members of the House of Representatives are elected for two? Should term limits be set?
Nancy Pelosi stood aside as the top Democrat in the House to make way for Hakeem JeffriesCredit: AP
Gary Nordlinger, a professor of politics at George Washington University, said changing the system would be “incredibly difficult” and require an amendment to the Constitution.
He suggests that a more realistic reform would be for Congress to set retirement ages for leadership positions on its powerful House and Senate committees, which monitor government operations and identify issues for legislative review.
To some extent, there have been positive signs of renewal. This year, for instance, the Democrats’ top three leaders in the House – former speaker Nancy Pelosi, 83, former majority leader Steny Hoyer, 84, and former whip Jim Clyburn 83 – stepped aside for a new generation of leadership: Hakeem Jeffries, 52, Katherine Clark, 60, and Peter Aguilar, 44.
But on the other hand, stalwarts like McConnell – who was elected in 1982 and is now the longest serving leader in the history of the Senate – have offered no hint of retirement.
His mid-sentence freeze on Wednesday also came after he tripped and fell at a dinner in March, which resulted in the top Republican being hospitalised for days and treated for concussion and a rib fracture. He has been noticeably slower ever since.
Feinstein, meanwhile, has had a groundbreaking career that shattered gender barriers from San Francisco (where she was the city’s first female mayor) to Capitol Hill (where she was elected to a male-dominated chamber in 1992).
But her mental and physical health have been declining for some time, resulting in her often missing votes, including for crucial judicial confirmations.
Supporters of fixed-term limits argue that frequent turnover would make both chambers more responsive and representative of their constituents – many of whom are far younger than their political representatives. Indeed, according to new research by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake and political documentary maker Mac Heller, the number of Gen Z voters (those born in the late 1990s and early 2010s) will have advanced by a net 52 million against older people between 2016 and 2024.
Opponents, however, say elections serve as de facto term limits and give voters the power to decide. They also argue that experience goes a long way when making policy decisions, and quite rightly point out that age does not always determine how well you do your job.
“What you’re seeing today is nothing new,” Nordlinger adds, citing the 1969 case of North Dakota senator Karl Mundt, who suffered a debilitating stroke that year but refused to resign. He instead served out the rest of his term, despite never again setting foot in the US Capitol.
“As long as voters keep sending people back to Congress, what can you do?”
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