Age Limits for Elected Officials?

Special Counsel Robert Hur's report of President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents found in his home brought his age back into the spotlight after Hur wrote that a jury would see the president as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" if he faced criminal charges.

Biden's campaign has been attempting to avoid this narrative as he runs for another four years of the presidency. If he wins, Biden, who is currently 81 years old, will be 86 at the end of his second term. 

These mishaps have brought back the question: Should there be age limits in politics?

Hur's report and Biden's response

• The special counsel included evidence in his report that Biden's memory is diminishing, writing that during two days of interviews, the president was unable to recall relevant details to the investigation, along with the years he had been vice president, and even when his oldest son, Beau Biden, died of cancer. 
• After the release of Hur's report, the White House held an impromptu press conference where Biden asserted that his memory was "just fine." He continued:

"I know what the hell I'm doing."

• Biden's legal team objected to Hur's description, writing:

"We do not believe that the report's treatment of President Biden's memory is accurate or appropriate. The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events."

• During the press conference, Biden answered questions about the Israel-Hamas war, where he mixed up the names of Egypt's president and Mexico's president, adding fuel to the debate.
• The director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, Chris Borick, said:

"The polling, over and over, we see data points that suggest it is his largest liability into this election that voters think he's simply too old to run."

Age limits?

• Other incidents have stirred the debate about possible age limits in Washington, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's multiple freezes while talking to the press. McConnell's freezing "episodes" have ignited concerns about his age and overall wellbeing, but his team denied any health complications. 
• The median age of U.S. senators is a record high of 65, while the median age of representatives in the House is 58.
• Some observers argue that an age limit would reduce the power of the "gerontocracy" and foster innovative challenges to the status quo.
• Members of the military, commercial pilots, and judges in certain states have mandatory retirement ages in place.
• A 2023 Pew Research Center poll found that 79% of Americans favor age limits for elected officials. Republicans support age limits slightly more than Democrats, but the cause is largely bipartisan.
• While popular among the public, creating an age limit for elected officials would require amending the Constitution. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, followed by ratification by three-fourths of states. 

Do you support age limits for elected officials?

-Jamie Epstein & Emma Kansiz

(Photo credit: Flickr/Gregory Hauenstein)