Move Over, Gramps!

Should there be age restrictions for US representatives?

Old age brings a lot of things: discounted movie tickets, earlier meal times and the famed white New Balance shoes. What it also brings (for most) is retirement. Ready to enjoy more time with family or unable to keep up with the demands of work, most people in their 70s and beyond have chosen to exchange their time cards for a Hawaiian shirt. But politicians are seemingly immune to the usual retirement age.

In its early days, Congress had a hard time retaining members. The concept of career politicians and the professionalization of government positions were relatively fresh and turnover rates were high. As the 19th century approached, however, the institutionalization of the branches resulted in career politicians that benefited from seniority. 

Today we see much of the same. Politicians now refuse to give up their seats and positions well into their 80s, especially if they know they can easily win their district or state. But just because you can run doesn't mean you should.

While creating age limits for representatives would be difficult due to laws established to prevent ageism (i.e. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act), it is imperative that we hold representatives accountable for competency in office.     

Last week, Nikki Haley, a Republican South Carolina senator running for the presidency in 2024, called for mental competency tests for politicians 75 and older. Although her criticism might have been a political move against her older competitors, Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, Haley brings up a point that is on plenty of voters' minds.

I am not necessarily calling for a new generation to take over Congress and the presidency, as senior members of our government have accrued beneficial institutional knowledge. But it is pertinent that we set a distinct age limit to ensure strength of government. 

According to a YouGov poll, most Americans envision 70 as the ideal age cap for politicians, and 58% support a maximum age limit in general. 

Jimmy Carter, the nation's longest-lived president at 98, even said himself in 2019, “I hope there is an age limit. If I were just 80 years old–if I was 15 years younger [than I am today]–I don’t believe I could undertake the duties I experienced when I was president.”

Presidents need to be able to handle the many pressures of national crises and exercise strategic moves that move the government towards their agendas. Congressional members juggle packed schedules as they attend to both their constituencies and their lawmaking responsibilities.  

This is not to say that younger representatives are necessarily better at these tasks than their older counterparts–one can be just as bad a president at 35 as they could at 70–but we would be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that age does not affect competency.

And while critics may cry ageism and claim disrespect to our older representatives, this call for age-based competency limits for politicians is not unique. Pilots must retire at age 65, police officers at around 57, foreign service officers at 65 and state judges at varying ages based on their location. 

Limits for these positions are in place to avoid risking the wellbeing of those that they serve due to the wear and tear that age brings. So why should this be any different for politicians?

Of course, setting an age limit would be extremely difficult, requiring a constitutional amendment to be passed by a two-thirds majority vote approved in both houses of Congress and ratified by at least 38 states. There is little incentive for older politicians to get this amendment on the floor, as it would shorten their reign. 

A more meticulous approach could be citizens themselves voting out these older politicians, but this is easier said than done. Many older politicians have incumbent advantages where they are well-known and very well-funded, which usually bodes well for reelection. 

Ultimately, politicians have a duty to ensure that Americans are being served to the best of their representatives' ability, and that can not happen through the prolonged terms we are seeing. It may be dismal to say, but America has a geriatric problem that can (but won’t) be solved by the same aging representatives.