09/19/2026
Bipartisan calls to impose age limits, term limits and mandatory cognitive testing on federal officials have gained fresh momentum, with a national survey conducted July 13–17, 2026 finding that most voters now back caps across every major branch of government.
The Change Research poll of 2,006 registered voters found majorities support a maximum age limit for Congress (83 percent), the presidency (79 percent), state governors (80 percent) and Supreme Court justices (78 percent). Support crossed party lines, with 89 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of Republicans backing a presidential age cap. The same poll found 87 percent of voters support creating a formal process to remove a member of Congress who becomes medically or cognitively unable to serve, a mechanism that does not currently exist outside of a full chamber vote to expel a member. The survey noted the 119th Congress is the third oldest in U.S. history, with an average member age of 58.9.
An earlier NPR/PBS News/Marist poll of 1,322 adults, conducted April 27–30, 2026, found 8 in 10 Americans favor both age caps and term limits for Congress, with 78 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of Republicans supporting age limits specifically. Rutgers professor Jean Twenge, who studies generational attitudes, said of the findings, “There seems to be a consensus that people think if you’re going to be an effective leader, you should not be 80 years old.”
The debate has been fueled by the visible aging of Congress itself. According to a Pew Research analysis of the current Congress, 84 representatives and 33 senators are over age 70, with another 104 representatives and 33 senators between 60 and 69. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has separately proposed annual cognitive evaluations for members of Congress, the judiciary and the executive branch, asking, “Would it be reasonable to have... an annual sort of evaluation in which they would have to establish, ‘Yes, I’m doing okay?’”
Neither age caps nor term limits are currently being seriously considered by Congress, and any constitutional age limit would require a constitutional amendment, a threshold no such proposal has approached.