Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate floor on Sept. 14, 2026, to vote on key bills. The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican and leader of his 52 colleagues in the Senate had been unable to travel to Capitol Hill due to health concerns after a fall in his home on June 16. He has had a history of health problems before his age came into focus, which are now impacting his recovery.
McConnell explicitly said that he would not seek reelection this November. Although that might not be expected given his age, Capitol Hill without him will be unusual for most and will mark the end of an era in congressional and Kentuckian politics. Having held his seat since 1985, McConnell is a seasoned voice among his colleagues.
On average, a United States member of Congress is 59.7 years old. The average age of the Senate is 65.3 years, and the House of Representatives is 58.5 years. Some members of Congress get more recognition for their age than for their policies. While only 79 were born after 1980, 437 were born before then.
Voters under 35 are slightly less underrepresented at the state level. The average age of the Louisiana state legislature is 54.4 years, and only five are under 35 according to a Rutgers University report. Another Rutgers report shows that, across 44 state legislatures, only 8% are under 35. Not much better can be said around the world. The Inter-Parliamentary Union compiles annual data on governments worldwide that use a parliamentary system of government. It reported that, as of 2025, “19.0% of MPs in national parliaments are aged 40 and under.
This is only a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points since 2023; however, it is nearly 50% more than in 2014 (12.9%).”
Although younger voters are shown to have different values than older voters, there appear to be some sort of informal barriers to office, such as a bias toward more experienced, older candidates, and a general disdain for politics.
However, McConnell is only the tenth-oldest member of Congress. The oldest, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), has held his seat since 1981, having won all seven reelection campaigns since then. It’s unclear whether he’ll run again in 2028. Louisiana’s own John Neely Kennedy, who’s served since 2017, is 74. His colleague, Bill Cassidy, lost his reelection primary, and his successor will likely be younger (Julia Letlow is the current frontrunner).
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passed away in July 2026 after a sudden aortic dissection at the age of 71. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) passed in 2023 at 90 years old. These are just some of the many members of Congress who have recently passed while in office.
These instances, alongside the demographic breakdown, once again brought term limits and age limits to the forefront of political discussion. The Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that stricter qualifications for Congress beyond what the Constitution provides are not permissible, supporting an earlier 1969 decision. Since the Constitution doesn’t provide an upper age limit, the most plausible avenue to enact one is through a constitutional amendment, which is difficult to achieve.
Scholars still debate whether age inhibits a politician from accurately representing the will of their constituents, who are, on average, younger. While McConnell’s record is most notable for impacting the political ideology of the Supreme Court, Generation Z voters are consistently concerned with issues like the cost of living and inflation, healthcare, jobs and unemployment.
Pew Research Center found in a 2023 survey that 79% of Americans support age limits for Congress, among several other proposed changes to the federal government, such as electing the president by popular vote and adding a term limit for Supreme Court justices.
Voters perceive having experience in navigating governance as important. Term limits could prevent politicians from settling into a rhythm of efficiency and effectiveness. However, when a politician is unable to do their job or is more concerned about themselves than their constituents, can the public be trusted to vote them out of office? After all, elections serve as a kind of performance appraisal.
It’s the will of the American people that will determine whether voters will wait to see if the disparity between the voter and elected officials begins disrupting the political process, or if collective action will take hold.