‘Past Their Prime’: Rahm Emanuel Calls for Age Limits for All Branches of Federal Government

A potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and former Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel, is calling for an age limit of 75 for all branches of the federal government, while acknowledging his proposal would cut short his own hypothetical presidency. Speaking at a Center for American Progress event, Mr. Emanuel criticized politicians at Washington for holding office “past their prime.” He called for an across-the-board age limit of 75 for the presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. “You’re 75 years old: done,” Mr. Emanuel said. “And that would be in the legislative branch, it’d be in the executive branch — including the Cabinet — and it’d be also in the Supreme Court, and all the federal courts.”Mr. Emanuel, 66, is seen as a potential Democratic candidate for president in the 2028 election. Under his plan, if he ran for office, he would not be able to serve a full second term. After his comments, he told Politico, “I know where I am in my age. Of course it would apply to me.”“You can’t say ‘here’s what I want to do to change Washington, one of the things I want to do’ — but I get an exemption because I bought it beforehand,’” he said. The debate around age or term limits was a topic that emerged during the 2024 election due to concerns about the age of Presidents Biden and Trump. Mr. Biden was 81 during his aborted re-election campaign. Mr. Trump, 79, twice set the record as the oldest person to assume the presidency. Across the federal government, a debate about age or term limits has raged as well. The average age of House members is 57.7 years old, while the average age of senators is 63.8. Seventeen senators are 75 or older, while 45 House members are 75 or older. Senator Chuck Grassley, the oldest member of the Senate, turned 92 last fall. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the nonvoting delegate for Washington, 88, who is the oldest member of the House, has said she plans to run for re-election. At the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas is 77, and Justice Samuel Alito is 75. Mr. Emanuel said, “We have to be honest about the fact that we have people that are staying way past not just their prime but their ability to really, fully contribute. And that’s at all levels of government.”It is likely Mr. Emanuel’s plan would require a constitutional amendment. The Constitution sets minimum age requirements for Congress and the presidency, but not the Supreme Court, and does not include any age cap. Mr. Emanuel told Politico that he believes an age limit could be implemented through legislation. The idea of age limits for members of the federal government is popular among Americans. A Pew Research Center poll from October 2023 found that 79 percent of Americans said they support age limits for elected officials, and 74 percent said they support an age limit for Supreme Court justices. However, the idea of implementing term limits for lawmakers has not made much headway in Congress.

‘Past Their Prime’: Rahm Emanuel Calls for Age Limits for All Branches of Federal Government

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