Is Jack Reed Getting Too Old

Is Jack Reed Getting Too Old

One of the dominating issues in American politics today is the age of top presidential candidates and congressional leaders.

In an age of regulating social media and controlling artificial intelligence, members of Congress often look out of touch with critical emerging issues.

Most Americans believe that Joe Biden is too old to run for reelection for President, and his age is a significant factor undermining his reelection chances.

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Today, Biden is 80 years old. He will be 82 on Election Day.

According to a CNN poll released this week, Biden has a dismal approval rating of 39%.

And age is a big factor.

According to CNN, roughly three-quarters of Americans say they’re seriously concerned that Biden’s age might negatively affect his current level of physical and mental competence (73%), and his ability to serve out another full term if reelected (76%), with a smaller 68% majority seriously concerned about his ability to understand the next generation’s concerns (that stands at 72% among those younger than 65, but just 57% of those 65 or older feel the same).

Others facing questions and backlash tied to their age are Donald Trump — he is 77 years old.

Most Americans say they don't want former President Trump or President Biden to run for president in 2024, another poll shows.

 

Aging United States Senate

The United States Senate age is old and got older with this Congress, which was seated in January.

The U.S. Senate’s median age is 65.3 years, up from 64.8 in the 117th Congress, 63.6 in the 116th and 62.4 in the 115th.

“In the Senate, Boomers continue to dominate, with 66 senators in this generation. That is slightly down from the previous Congress (68) but in line with the two before it (66 and 65, respectively). The number of Silent Generation senators has fallen to eight. As recently as the 115th Congress (2017-18), 19 senators were part of that generation. The number of Gen X senators has ticked up to 23, compared with 20 in the previous Congress,” according to Pew Research.

In Congress, the United States Senate’s oldest member, Diane Feinstein (D-CA), is 90 years old, missed months of this session due to health issues, and has repeatedly been caught on camera appearing to be unaware of where she was or what she was doing.

And, the 81-year-old Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has had a series of accidents, including falls and a concussion. Twice in recent weeks in front of reporters, McConnell has frozen and been unable to respond for 30 seconds or more.

 

Jack Reed’s Longevity

Reed was first elected to office in Rhode Island in 1984 when he won a seat in the Rhode Island State Senate — fellow member of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation Seth Magaziner was a one-year-old at the time.

Today, Rhode Island’s senior U.S. Senator Jack Reed is 73 years old.

He will be 76 when he is next up for reelection and, thus, would be 82 at the end of that term - older than McConnell is now.

Reed was elected to Congress in 1991 when he was elected to the House of Representatives, succeeding Rhode Island's only woman to ever serve in Congress, Claudine Schneider.

To date, Reed has shown no decline. He chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The country is learning that in the Senate, age is a double-edged sword: you gain power through seniority, and thus, those in power are in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.