According to a report, a Republican newcomer in the House is proposing legislation to bring fresh faces to Capitol Hill by setting mandatory retirement ages for federal lawmakers.
Republican Michigan representative John James submitted a motion to encourage a Constitutional amendment to set a maximum age for holding elective office.
He explained that our country’s forefathers never intended for these legislative positions to be permanent. They didn’t anticipate that any lawmakers would die while serving. They didn’t want their representatives to become wealthy and powerful during the course of their careers in government.
If enacted, it would direct Congress to draft an amendment to the Constitution making it illegal for anybody to run for such posts if they would become 75 or older at any point during the term.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are two senior senators whose health has been the subject of much discussion this year, as has President Joe Biden’s.
James said that no one who has seen Feinstein, McConnell, or Biden can believe they were of sound mind and body. The nation’s adversaries can see them, too.
Eighty-one-year-old Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (R) struggled and froze up trying to answer a question from the press during a news conference on August 30, 2023. McConnell also went completely blank at a news conference in July.
He also suffered injuries from falls at least twice this year.
Ninety-year-old Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, a serving member of the Senate, was reportedly taken to the hospital in August after a fall at her San Francisco home.
In addition, Feinstein seemed confused in July as she attempted to make a statement before a Senate vote.
Feinstein has announced she will not seek re-election next year, but she has committed to serve the remainder of her current term.
