Congress was never designed to be a lifetime appointment, but increasingly, that is exactly how many Americans view it.
A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows overwhelming bipartisan support for imposing both age limits and term limits on members of Congress, underscoring growing public frustration with a political class that often appears more permanent than representative.
According to the survey, 80% of registered voters support establishing a maximum age limit for candidates running for the House or Senate. Even more — 84% — support limiting the number of terms lawmakers can serve.
Those numbers are striking not just because they are high, but because they cut across party lines almost evenly.
Republicans showed slightly stronger support, with 89% backing term limits and 83% favoring age limits. Among Democrats, support remained substantial, with 78% supporting both proposals. Even voters over age 60 — the demographic theoretically most threatened by age caps — largely backed the idea.
The poll did not propose specific limits, but the political momentum behind the issue is clearly growing.
Part of that pressure comes from the increasingly obvious aging of Congress itself.
The current 119th Congress is now among the oldest in American history. The median age in the House sits at roughly 57.5 years, while the Senate’s median age approaches 65. Some of the most powerful figures in Washington are well into their 70s, 80s, and even 90s.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, for example, is now 92 years old and still chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee while sitting third in the presidential line of succession.
President Donald Trump himself turns 80 next month. If he finishes his term in January 2029, he will officially become the oldest president in American history, surpassing Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, concerns about aging lawmakers have intensified following a series of deaths in office during the current Congress.
Five House members have died while serving during the 119th Congress alone. The most recent was Rep. David Scott of Georgia, who passed away in April at age 80 after declining health.
Those incidents have fueled broader public concerns about whether Washington has become too insulated, too stagnant, and too disconnected from ordinary voters.
Critics of the current system argue that incumbency advantages, fundraising networks, and party machinery now allow politicians to remain in office for decades with little realistic competition. Some lawmakers effectively spend more time in Congress than many Americans spend in an entire career.
Supporters of term limits argue that was never the intention behind representative government.
Age limits, meanwhile, remain more controversial constitutionally and politically. Critics argue they risk punishing capable individuals simply because of age, while supporters counter that cognitive decline, health concerns, and the demands of modern governance make the issue unavoidable.
