He feared the indiscriminate and hasty admission of people to Congress that might create a channel for foreign influence on the national councils., James Monroe also wrote about the presidential age requirement making it difficult for a father and son to serve in a dynastic way. If he wins, former Vice President Joe Biden will be 78 years old when he is inaugurated, a full 28 years older than the average age of all newly elected Democratic commanders-in-chief since . Breakingviews - Cox: It's time for an age limit on the presidency Excluding people based on a personal attribute that is not under their control due to some statistical correlation is pretty much the textbook definition of discrimination. But the California Democrat has bristled at suggestions that Biden should also allow for a new generation of Democratic leadership. Alex Pareene Published December 21, 2017 Comments ( 225) The Washington Post recently explained that, based on the number of octogenarians currently serving, this is the oldest U.S. Senate ever. If a chief judge feels that a senior judge is no longer intellectually able to do the work, the chief judge can decline to assign a senior judge to more cases. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is 83, while House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn is 82. The average life expectancy in the time period from 1750 to 1800 was 36 years. Indeed, some people would argue that dementia is not an insuperable obstacle to being elected to office in the first place :- ( - jamesqf Aug 21, 2017 at 17:59 "I think everybody wants me to run, but we're going to have discussions about it. If Joe Biden were elected, he would be 78 upon becoming President. There are no age requirements for Supreme Court Justices. powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 81 and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is 71. "I think Chuck Grassley does a pretty darn good job," he said. And, after scowling for a moment, he submitted to a flicker of a smile as he added, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. Senators Out if Age Limits Imposed on Elected Officials By Jon Jackson On 1/20/22 at 5:28 PM EST Share U.S. Is there an age limit for President? In the absence of an age cap, term limits offer another potential solution, though that too would require going through the arduous constitutional-amendment process. Nonetheless, a governing document should not presume luck in the genetic lottery. But if frustration with gerontocracy continues to mount, there's some evidence that the idea could gain broader support within the party. But though he had gained a few pounds while he served in office, his doctor had said on numerous occasions that he was healthy. But the pull of tenure is strong, even for those who have voted for term limits. In December, House Democrats again voted against instituting the limits. All lines of this kind are. Why this fact of life should not be a matter of constitutional concern given the incredible sway, authorities, and importance of the American President is unclear. Why does a presidential candidate need to be 35 years old anyway? President Trump's recent baffling interviews have left some wondering if he is suffering from some age-related decline. But if voters do have concerns about candidate's age, that's an issue they can watch for on the campaign trail leading into next year's election. Vicky. Christie: Social Security, Medicare cuts are a necessary political Jimmy Carters grandson says former president, first lady are in the final Trump campaign bills DeSantiss listless vessel remark as Hutchinson says Trump may not qualify to be president, citing 14th Amendment, Las Vegas under state of emergency as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches. "I'm concerned that politics has become a gerontocracy," he said. But in practice, the only fitness test for a member of Congress is the ability to win an election. How would these limits impact the makeup of our current Congress? Former President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-lago on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. In 1972, Joe Biden, a 29-year-old candidate from Delaware, was elected to the Senate. He deflected the issue with humor, saying he wouldn't exploit his opponent's "youth and inexperience.". In the case of judges, there is only the remedy of impeachment for non-feasance resulting from failure to carry out the duties of the office as a consequence of old age related conditions. They can take a day off, or even a week or a month. That's it. The revelation of the diagnosis reignited questions about whether there had been signs of early symptoms during his second term. What happens if the Chief Justice refuses to give the oath of office to the President of the US? But arbitrary does not mean unreasonable if based on a judgment of what generally makes sense. The Constitution already specifies a minimum age to become president: 35. But its also true that the vast majority of us slow down, both mentally and physically, as we head into our eighth decade. And William Jennings Bryam was the youngest major party candidate to run in a general election. taxes for Social Security or Medicare. But aside from the power amassed within the halls of the US Capitol, the power of incumbency in one's home district can often ensure that upstart candidates have a hard time mounting a credible challenge to those longtime incumbents. As it stands, age is one of just three constitutionally enumerated requirements for serving in Congress or the White House the other two pertain to citizenship and state residency. More than half (58%) of Americans say that there should be a maximum age limit, while 21% say there should not be. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Our analysis found that if senators over 60 were barred from holding office, 71% of current senators would be ineligible to serve. Should age be a factor in the race for U.S. president? "Puppies have a nap. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience." In an interview on the relevance of age to serve as president, Jimmy Carter recently suggested that there should be an upper age limit because he believed at age 80, he would have been unable to handle just the foreign affairs component of the job. Ironically, 12 of the delegates at the Constitution Convention were under the age of 35, including Alexander Hamilton. "Tenure yields power yields tenure," said Ossoff, referring to the campaign-finance system, partisan gerrymandering, and the centralization of power within party apparatuses. Term limits, which are common at the state and local government level, also often impose de facto age limits, because most very elderly elected officials mandated to be so old by being re-elected many times after being first elected at a much younger age. Years after Reagan left office, the nation would learn he had Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative condition that eventually claimed his life. Shouldn't there be an age limit on who can run for president? Wasn't he? The Memo: Georgia indictment reminds voters of the Republicans who stood up to Hogan says No Labels likely to launch third-party alternative if Georgia indictment sharpens rift between Trump and the Peach State, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. There's something to be said for exiting gracefully.". There's been a minimum age limit to hold various federal offices for centuries. For example, Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 23(1) requires judges to retire at age 72. my neighbor, who was mentally acute up until his death, at 102.) "the compensation system for federal judges in the United States creates a very powerful economic incentive to retire at a reasonable retirement age by virtue of how the defined benefit pension plan works, that most judges assent to not long after reaching that age." And the median age of the Senate is about 64, while the median age in the House is about 58. Dole did not seem overly ruffled by references to his age, although he did generate anxiety midway through the campaign when he leaned on a flimsy railing and fell a short distance from the stage at a campaign rally. Until Biden, Donald Trump had been the oldest president on his inauguration day. And even if the public had access to thorough and honest medical records of the candidates, those records cannot guarantee a presidents future mental and physical health. see affirmative action). ; A person who meets the above qualifications could still not be qualified to hold office if that person has . Even conditional upon attaining age 20, the life expectancy for white men was under 50 years of age, throughout the 1800s. Can a 13 years old be a president? Sign up for notifications from Insider! The government's two suppliers, Moderna and Pfizer , have said that supplying the NHS . So, too, with individuals running for office who are well into their 70s. Would a group of creatures floating in Reverse Gravity have any chance at saving against a fireball? United States presidential eligibility legislation - Wikipedia Speculation over Reagan's acuity loomed over the political conversation. Because dementia does not affect all people, and of those affected, not all are affected at the same age. written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the But service ceilings aren't entirely alien to politics: Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia require state-level judges to retire when they reach a certain age, generally 70 to 75. "Those sorts of anticompetitive dynamics can make it more difficult for younger candidates to get a shot.". Trump dismissed questions about his age in a Truth Social post last year, arguing that Biden was one of the oldest 79s in History but by and of itself, he is not an old man., There are many people in their 80s, and even 90s, that are as good and sharp as ever, Trump wrote. If Trump wins, he would be 78 the same age that Biden was when he began his first term in 2021. Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. said Ossoff, who became eligible to run for president just this year. The Constitution requires members of Congress to be 25 and presidents and vice presidents to be 35. The issue could also be taken up in a national convention called for by a two-thirds vote from state legislatures. While a member of Congress need only be an "inhabitant" of the state he or she represents, the president must have been a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years. hide caption. 2023 National Constitution Center. An analysis of the current 117th Congress revealed that its the oldest, on average, of any Congress in at least the past 20 years. If Biden reclaims the White House, he would be 82 years old at the beginning of his second term in January 2025. But the potential for inexperience in youth is different from the negative consequences of aging, and those consequences certainly aren't uniform. One might object to this idea based on the fact that Americas longish presidential campaign seasons should be sufficient for voters to make an assessment about a candidates health and mental acuity. Gouverneur Morris, who wrote the Preamble, was 35 years of age and James Madison was 36 years of age. "Or as we like to call it in the Senate: middle-aged.". Your assumption that answer is cynical is likely spot on. Reagan's avuncular style lent itself to concealing uncertainty in a cloak of affability. ), President George H. Bush and President-elect Bill Clinton at the White House on Wed., Nov. 18, 1992. In 2019, former President Jimmy Carter expressed concern over the age of the presidential candidates in the 2020 election, stating: "I hope there's an age limitIf I were just 80 years old, if I was 15 years younger, I don't believe I could undertake the duties I experienced when I was president." His Republican challenger was Bob Dole, a longtime senator who was then 73. You would have to amend the Constitution?" "If it's true that what you're trying to test for is a kind of mental acuity, controlling for age is not a good way to do that," Chappel told Insider. Getting Realistic, Trump, Clinton, and Defining Deviancy Down, Episode 161: The Gary Schmitt Impeachment Primer. "It's fair to ask about anything that's reasonable, including age," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, who just turned 81 this month. For trial court judges, the prospect of appellate review of their decisions partially mitigates the risk of a judge making bad decisions due to declining intellectual capacity. Joe Biden, at 80, is the oldest president in US history. No upper age limit. Speaking at the Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez told Insider it was "important for us to figure out perhaps a better way of determining who should lead a committee, beyond who's been here longest.". If elected, Donald Trump will be 74 when sworn in for a second term. Ron Sokol. Former President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-lago on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. Biden is the first octogenarian in the Oval Office. It only takes a minute to sign up. "life tenure" provisions for their apex coult actually impose age limits.ll One scholar testified . That may have been because they themselves were relatively young, averaging 42 years. "I don't think Senator Dole is too old to be president. Why would it even occur to you to do such a thing? But that system can also lead to certain perverse incentives, including remaining in office even amid obvious signs of mental decline. President Biden is 79 years old and would be 83 at the time of his inaugural if he wins a second term. That is no longer the case and were rolling the dice by ignoring that change and the obvious downsides of having no limit on how old a president can be. A recent YouGov poll asks Americans whether they think there should be a maximum age limit for elected officials, and if so, what it should be. "That often takes decades. "More important than those constitutional limits," said Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, the youngest member of the Senate at age 35, "are the various structural impediments in our political system as it functions today that deter, and make it so difficult, and discourage young people from seeking office.". It was 40 years ago that, at the age of 69, Ronald Reagan was elected President and one month later would turn 70. remains the same, but their taxes fall because they dont have to pay As the average age of elected officials has risen, some have questioned whether we should restrict individuals over a certain age from holding office. The obvious question is, what would the age limit be? Presumably, the Constitutions drafters thought a certain level of maturity were more likely to be present with someone 35 than, say, 25. The campaign also has a White House website petition asking President Barack Obama to call on Congress to address the age requirement necessary for presidential office with an amendment to the Constitution to allow adults under 35 to be President.. How old are the Democrats running in the 2024 election? Arguing for why 74 is the "sensible" age cutoff, he stated, "Given that risks illness, injury, cognitive decline grow with age, and that the presidency requires a full-time, fully capable. NOW WATCH: Watch how Joe Biden has aged from 1974 to 2022, aging of America's top political leadership, floated by long-shot political candidates, but can't yet serve in the nation's highest office, current Congress is the oldest in the nation's history, controlled roughly 56% of the seats in both chambers, would have to call for a constitutional convention, "diminished" senator representing California, would've been next in line to be president pro tempore, elected the 72-year-old Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington to the job instead, again voted against instituting the limits, some Democrats trying in vain to limit Pelosi's tenure in 2018, instituting committee term limits beyond just their party, hope to hold a constitutional convention for those very purposes, recently completed his annual 99-county tour of Iowa, will most likely be replaced by a woman less than half his age. In the specific case of age-correlated mentally debilitating diseases, some people develop Alzheimer's disease as early as their fifties known as early-onset Alzheimer's disease while other live to be over a hundred and never develop it. An age cap would be ageist, and cause us to lose out on presidential candidates with invaluable life experience. Because there are upper-age limits for government officials in many U.S. state and local governments. Aging causes decline in numerous cognitive. In other words, if judges retire once meeting the "rule of 80" they can get the same pay with less taxes without doing any work, and can take senior judge assignments in the discretion of the chief judge of their court for additional pay, while vacating their position. In other words: it's far from certain that Alzheimer's of some other disease causing dementia develops. Bush, to succeed him. But even on that stage in Kansas City, minutes after his marvelous quip seemed to bury the age issue, Reagan's closing speech raised questions. There's no ceiling on the total number of years a legislator can serve, so politicians often switch back and forth between the legislative bodies after their term limits kick in. The history of the contemporary movement for term limits largely dates back to the early 1990s, when dozens of states enacted term limits not just for their own legislatures but for their federal representatives in Washington. It is one of the most replayed moments in the history of presidential debates. Yet, as we know, most Americans dont actually pay as much attention as perhaps they should until the nominees have been chosen and Novembers election closes in. Link couldn't be copied to clipboard! Term, age limits are needed for presidents, Supreme Court, Congress He noted the existence of term limits on the presidency, while quipping that his openness to the idea might make him a "pariah" within the party. Thirty-seven percent of Democratic and Independent voters say Bidens age makes them less likely to vote for him, according to a recent USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll. "That's priceless for Iowa," the ad intones. The Constitution, however, is vague on this point. Make more money working. Everyone has heard about the grandfather still playing pick-up basketball on a city playground or a grandmother still pounding out her umpteenth novel. Most people died before they were old enough for age related dementia to be a major concern. "If I become a shadow of my former self, then it's time for me to go. He's already 89. "We're living in a time where incumbency is no longer an insurance policy against primary challengers," he said. And the advanced age of the country's top political leadership is striking, particularly when viewed through the lens of history. According to the U.S. Constitution, amendments may be proposed one of two ways. March 16, 2020 As virtually everyone covering this year's run for the presidency has noted, the three remaining candidates of note are older than 70. Why the effects of aging are detrimental to being the U.S. president. ", "Those who drafted the Constitution had sound reasons to set the minimum standards for various federal offices, you know?" Seniority is used to determine who gets first choice at offices and, more important, who gets to chair committees. And while former President Jimmy Carter, who's nearly 98, once casually suggested an age limit because he couldn't undertake presidential duties even if he were "just 80 years old," others may reach a different conclusion. "She has a command of the institution.". There was some insight later from James Madison, writing in The Federalist 62, about why Senators needed to be older than House members. 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 5, Clause 2, very powerful economic incentive to retire at a reasonable retirement age by virtue of how the defined benefit pension plan works, Our Design Vision for Stack Overflow and the Stack Exchange network, Moderation strike: Results of negotiations. Now it's time for you to have one," fellow Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts reportedly told Feinstein with a chuckle in August. Of course, there are always exceptionsas there is in any large group. The Constitution already specifies a minimum age to become president: 35. Can the Supreme Court overturn an impeachment? Arguably the best reason to wait until age 67 to receive Social . Reagan was okay. ", President Biden, campaigning with gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore in Bowie, Maryland, on the eve of the U.S. midterm election. Can the president appoint him- or herself to the Supreme Court? Lapses in attention or effectiveness in his second term were sometimes attributed to his age. The Case for Senate, House, and Presidential Age Limits - Esquire Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of Those include term limits, overhauling the seniority system, and fixing the campaign finance system. Age was an implicit contrast in the 1992 election, when Bill Clinton challenged incumbent President George H.W. The constitutional age requirements for federal office35 for president, 30 for senators, 25 for representativesmake sense. People have been. Big-name candidates are nabbing the headlines for the 2024 presidential race, but there are lesser-known hopefuls running to get votes as well. About one in 10 say it should be some other limit. "If you are on a committee and want to chair it, you basically have to wait until almost everyone before you resigns or leaves office," she wrote in a post on June 18. However, common sense suggested to the Founders that exceptions should not be expected to be the rule. Is there no age limit for a president? Ask the lawyer Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Thomas Jefferson was also 33 years of age when he drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776. '80s'90s science fiction children's book about a gold monkey robot stuck on a planet like a junkyard, Possible error in Stanley's combinatorics volume 1. So in other words, if the VP and enough members of government agree that the president is unable to discharge the duties of office for any reason (such as dementia) they can remove the president from office immediately. President George H. Bush and President-elect Bill Clinton at the White House on Wed., Nov. 18, 1992. With the conclusion of the 2022 midterm elections and Pelosi's decision to step down from leadership, some change is afoot; Democratic House leadership is set to be 31 years younger on average. One thing Americans agree on? Our politicians are too old. Even Torres noted that alongside his desire for new "opportunities for a new generation of public servants," there were signs of younger generations beginning to dislodge incumbents. Requirements to be president of the US: Here's what you need to know. 3 No-Brainer Reasons to Claim Social Security at Age 67 Biden, turning 80, faces an age-old question: How old is too old - NPR In practice, age is frequently raised as an issue in the Presidential nomination process and in Presidential elections, although it is hard to identify a particular election in which it was a decisive factor. On one hand, age can bring wisdom and experience, which can be enormously helpful when facing challenges on the global scale, Chervinsky said. Grassley, though often reliant on staff members for assistance, recently completed his annual 99-county tour of Iowa as he seeks his eighth term in the Senate. The rule is that the voters decide. State government offices in some, but not all, states are . President Joe Biden is asking Congress for more than $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs as he works to sustain support for the war amid signs of softening support among Americans. Some voters are looking for a fresh face in the crowd, potentially someone youthful with no political experience. But electing individuals in their mid- to late 70s, with all the demands and pressures of todays office, is more a roll of the dice than we ought to be comfortable with. At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, there was little public debate about the age requirements and no discussion about the age requirement for the presidency. Those requirements haven't changed since the Constitution was written in 1787 and went into effect in 1789. Key Takeaways As there's a minimum age, there should be a maximum one. Is your question limited to the federal government? But there is far more to the story than what is usually remembered. Further, that older people tend to look at younger people (not without some justification) as less "wise", experienced, and competent, and that older people too frequently do not imagine or perceive their own decline in ability, and even if they do they have no interest in giving up what power and privilege they may have acquired. In order to actually take the office, you have to be a "natural born" citizen of the country, and you must have lived in the States for at least the last 14 years. hide caption. 1 Because dementia does not affect all people, and of those affected, not all are affected at the same age. One interesting comment came from a Continental Congress member who was in Philadelphia in 1787 but not a delegate at the Constitutional Convention: Tench Coxe. "People live longer now and are more capable in their later years because they're healthier than in the past," Schmidt said. Asked to sum up, he started describing a trip he and his wife Nancy had taken down California's coastal Highway 1 years earlier. How does aging affect someone's ability to lead? The youngest was just 26, the oldest, Benjamin Franklin, was 81. Today, the age limits on the presidency and Congress havent been successfully challenged in court. Sen. McConnell followed this unprecedented snub by eliminating the filibuster for a Republican nominee and confirming two controversial justices nominated by President Donald Trump.9 Regular. There has been a recent push to change the system . It is getting more common to see candidates running in their 70s though, James Campbell, a political science professor at the University at Buffalo, said. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.". Age of candidacy laws in the United States - Wikipedia

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