The Case for Congressional Term Limits: Age and Frail Health of Too Many Leaders a Silent Scandal

Twice this summer, an ambulance was sent to the home of a U.S. senator. Former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been recovering from a fall since June and is finally expected to return to the Senate this week. In 2024, as she was leaving office, it became known that Texas Representative Kay Granger (R.), chairwoman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, had dementia and had lived in an assisted-care facility for the last six months of her term. She passed away last month at age 83. California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D.), chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, was another sad example of someone who shouldn’t have served as long as she did: until her death at age 90, in 2023.

Everyone now knows that the White House covered up President Joe Biden’s mental decline starting perhaps as early as the day he was inaugurated in 2021. But it should also concern us that the average age of senators today is 64 years. In the House, meant to be the “people’s chamber,” the average age is 58. Members of Congress must disclose their financial interests and their stock trades. But nothing requires disclosures about their health or whether they can still do the job.

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John Fund

John Fund is National Review’s national-affairs reporter.

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Twice this summer, an ambulance was sent to the home of a U.S. senator. Former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been recovering from a fall since June and is finally expected to return to the Senate this week. In 2024, as she was leaving office, it became known that Texas Representative Kay Granger (R.), chairwoman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, had dementia and had lived in an assisted-care facility for the last six months of her term. She passed away last month at age 83. California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D.), chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, was another sad example of someone who shouldn’t have served as long as she did: until her death at age 90, in 2023.

Everyone now knows that the White House covered up President Joe Biden’s mental decline starting perhaps as early as the day he was inaugurated in 2021. But it should also concern us that the average age of senators today is 64 years. In the House, meant to be the “people’s chamber,” the average age is 58. Members of Congress must disclose their financial interests and their stock trades. But nothing requires disclosures about their health or whether they can still do the job.