As 2026 barrels toward us, we Americans have some significant pondering to do on a problem that is uncomfortable for most everyone. By Americans, I mean Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and people who may not bother to vote but who are nonetheless affected by decision-makers running our government.
The problem is that many of our political leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, are simply too old to be effective in their jobs. Some of them have the potential to be flat-out dangerous.
Think Joe Biden, who froze during a debate broadcast around the world.
Think Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who did the same thing multiple times in public, and we have no idea what happened in private.
Think California Senator Diane Feinstein, who repeated questions during Senate committee hearings and reportedly sometimes did not know where she was.
Think South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, who fondled teenage pages and died at 100, just six months after leaving office.
And think Donald Trump, who, love him or loathe him, is not the same person he was during his first term as President and who now openly dozes in meetings, calls women journalists “piggy,” and rages online at night.
Each of these leaders is/was at least in his/her late 70s, and others are/were considerably older.
Age is a delicate topic because most people of a certain age function well or not as private citizens, not public officials. Our loved ones may worry about our health and our decision-making abilities, but whatever they may be, they do not affect thousands or millions of others.
When the United States was formed, our Founding Fathers (there were no official Founding Mothers) realized there should be age minimums and wrote them into our Constitution—25 for members of the US House of Representatives, 30 for members of the US Senate, and 35 for US President. North Carolina’s Constitution also has minimum ages—21 for the NC House, 25 for the NC Senate, and 30 for Governor.
And, oh my goodness! US Supreme Court justices and federal judges hold constitutionally mandated lifetime appointments. Many do resign for all sorts of reasons, but some who do not wind up in the same advanced age situations as elected politicians. They make decisions for others that are difficult, if not impossible, to change.
Most other advanced nations limit legislative and judicial service through term limits or mandatory retirement ages, but most of the US does not. The North Carolina General Assembly actually raised the retirement age for appellate judges from 72 to 76 to accommodate the birthday of a conservative Supreme Court Justice it wanted to keep in place—clearly a move in the wrong direction!
Little, if any, thought was given to age limits, probably because in the late 18th century, life was shorter than it is now and few lingered in old age, which is often prolonged today by modern pharmaceuticals. George Washington died at 69, and while Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin made it into their 80s, the average lifespan for a man in 1800 was around 40. With life being so short, there was apparently little, if any, thought given to decision-makers who overstay their capabilities.
That simply was not a problem in the early days of our nation.
It is now.
While many older Americans—you and I know plenty of them—remain vibrant and capable well into old age and to their last breaths, many do not. This becomes a serious issue when they are making life-changing decisions not only for themselves but for millions of Americans and others around the world.
Remedying the United States’ dilemma of aging decision makers will not be easy and will involve the participation of some of those same decision makers.
That said, we need to proceed for the sake of a nation that has evolved dramatically over its 250 years of existence.