Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) anticipated return to the Senate next week has put the spotlight back on the health and fitness of aging lawmakers. The 84-year-old Senate minority leader spent nearly two months in the hospital over the summer after a fall at home and treatment for pneumonia. He has been recovering at home, undergoing what he called an "intensive regimen of physical therapy."
His extended absence and advanced age have revived discussions about whether lawmakers stay in office too long. Polls show that a large majority of Americans support term limits, even as they continue to reelect older incumbents. McConnell, first elected to the Senate in 1985, is the 10th longest-serving senator in U.S. history. He is not seeking reelection to his current term, which ends in January.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has repeatedly questioned whether McConnell is fit to serve, given his health challenges this summer. "I hope that he is one of the reasons that we get term limits. I'll tell you what, I'd even name the bill after him," Beshear told CNN.
Rob Sand, the 44-year-old Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Iowa, has also voiced support for both age and term limits. "The idea is, I want term limits. I want age limits. Let's go get them," he told reporters in April.
The debate has been fueled by a recent spate of lawmakers who have died in office, six in this term alone. Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), and David Scott (D-Ga.) were all a decade or more past the typical retirement age of 65. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died in July at age 71 from aortic dissection, a sudden condition not typically screened for. In 2023, 90-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) died while in office.
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) left office just over a year before her death last month at age 83. Her final tenure was overshadowed by revelations that she had been living in a senior facility and experiencing what her son described as "dementia issues." Her family confirmed her death was caused by complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Public Support for Term Limits
Support for term limits on Congress remains overwhelmingly popular across the political spectrum. An NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll released in May found that 83 percent of U.S. adults support term limits, with self-identified Republicans showing the highest rate at 89 percent. The same survey found that 80 percent of Americans also support an age cap on congressional candidates.
Aaron Dukette, senior strategist for the nonpartisan advocacy group U.S. Term Limits, says support for imposing term limits has "skyrocketed" among members of Congress in recent years. "We have 130-plus people who have signed a pledge and gotten on as co-sponsors for our amendment. So, it's not obviously at the two-thirds threshold that you need to have both chambers, but it's certainly growing," Dukette said. "And I think people on both sides of the aisle started to recognize that this is something that's going to benefit our whole electoral process and not just one party over the other."
The joint resolution backed by his organization would limit U.S. senators to two terms and House members to three terms. The version introduced in the House last year has 115 co-sponsors, 107 of whom are Republicans.
Lawmakers Reluctant to Discuss Age
While the public conversation about term and age limits persists, such discussions are rarer among lawmakers themselves, according to those who have worked with them. Rodney Whitlock, managing director of Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies, was health policy adviser to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) until 2015. Grassley, now 92, is the oldest member of Congress and the longest-serving current senator, exceeding McConnell's tenure by four years.
"It is not as common as one would think, unless the member starts to have issues," Whitlock said when asked whether lawmakers and their staff talk about age. He argued that the issue of an aging workforce is a broad one. "Nobody should be looking at this going, 'This is a unique problem to members of Congress.' No, it's not. It is societal. It is our issues with aging. All of these things are part of this conversation," said Whitlock. He noted that during his time as a congressional staffer, views on aging lawmakers were more respectful, but the discussions have since become "overtly political."
While describing Grassley's view of public service as a "calling," Whitlock said there are "certainly" lawmakers who stay in office simply because they have "grown so accustomed to the lifestyle." The debate over American gerontocracy extends beyond Congress. President Trump, 80, is the oldest person to be sworn in as U.S. president; former President Biden left office at 82. At the Supreme Court, five of the eight sitting justices are past age 65, with Justice Clarence Thomas the oldest at 78.
Dukette from U.S. Term Limits said his organization focuses on limiting congressional service based on terms rather than age, reasoning that term limits would naturally resolve the age issue. "We understand the concern and the desire for age limits, given the fact that we have many prominent elderly members of Congress that are running into health troubles while still being in office," he said, adding that they often go missing for extended periods.
As McConnell prepares to return, his case highlights the broader questions about the capacity of aging lawmakers to serve. The debate over term and age limits is likely to continue, especially with calls for a removal process for incapacitated lawmakers gaining traction. Some GOP lawmakers are already skipping major political events, while others are courting at-risk members at the White House.
