The Congressional Black Caucus Has a Geriatric Problem

America’s government has an old age problem. It was back in the news again when Representative Kay Granger, a Texas Republican who chaired the House Appropriations Committee as recently as April, was discovered in December living in a home for people suffering from dementia.

The problem might be getting better. The gerontocracy has shed 82-year-old Joe Biden, 84-year-old Nancy Pelosi, and 82-year-old Mitch McConnell from leadership. Clarence Thomas, the oldest Supreme Court justice, is 76. John Thune is 64. Mike Johnson is 52, and his opposite number in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, is 54. Donald Trump is 78, and will be five months older at his inauguration than Biden was at his, but Trump seems to be the end of that line; JD Vance is 40.

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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America’s government has an old age problem. It was back in the news again when Representative Kay Granger, a Texas Republican who chaired the House Appropriations Committee as recently as April, was discovered in December living in a home for people suffering from dementia.

The problem might be getting better. The gerontocracy has shed 82-year-old Joe Biden, 84-year-old Nancy Pelosi, and 82-year-old Mitch McConnell from leadership. Clarence Thomas, the oldest Supreme Court justice, is 76. John Thune is 64. Mike Johnson is 52, and his opposite number in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, is 54. Donald Trump is 78, and will be five months older at his inauguration than Biden was at his, but Trump seems to be the end of that line; JD Vance is 40.