In the latest rendition of Americans growing increasingly angry and concerned with how their government is dominated by extremely old politicians, X (formerly Twitter) exploded over the news that 88-year-old Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, the oldest member of the House, has decided to seek re-election rather than step aside for a younger and sharper member.
Such is what Rep. Norton announced in early September, telling the media that she is not at all concerned by her advanced age or the concerns of those who say they should be represented by someone more youthful and with more energy, so she will “of course” be running for re-election.
Specifically, Rep. Norton told as much to Axios, explaining that her seniority stemming from decades in Congress (born in 1937, she entered Congress in 1991) are an advantage. She said, “I say that my seniority is what is very important, and I am not going to step aside.” Rep. Norton is a non-voting member who represents the District of Columbia.
Other elderly Democrats are refusing to step down as well. For example, 77-year-old Rep. John Larson (D-CT.), confirmed to Axios that he plans on running for re-election in 2026 despite the very public worries that have been raised about his health, saying that those who would replace him haven’t earned it yet.
He told the outlet, discounting the vast advantages in a re-election campaign that come with being a sitting member of Congress, “Generational change is fine, but you’ve got to earn it. It’s not like, ‘Oh geez, you know what, why didn’t I think of that? Now’s the time for me to step down because, well, it’s generational change!’”
In any case, Rep. Norton’s announcement about refusing to step down is what drew particular ire on X. The very large and popular “Tara Bull” X account, for instance, wrote, “Oldest member of House, Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88, is seeking re-election: ‘Not going to step aside’ We need term limits.”
Commenters largely agreed, chiming in with messages like “There need to be term limits AND maximum age limits”, “Good Lord. Term limits NOW”, and “Need term limits desperately, and shame on her family for letting her do this! I would NEVER let my dad keep working at his age.” Making a similar point, still another noted, “Can’t even walk on her own without assistance, but refuses to step down and give up her power. She reminds me of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
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On a somewhat different note, another commenter to chimed in to argue that age is not the issue so much as the opportunities for corruption presented to long-term representatives, saying, “Ppl use age limits as an option but that doesn’t solve the issues of ppl like Pelosi who has been there since 1987 causing damage since then. If we had term limits she would only have been in 4 years instead of 38. Much less time to enrich herself more time to represent us.”
Yet another commenter questioned why Rep. Norton would step away from such an easy paycheck, as there is next to nothing that she actually has to do. That commenter said, Why would she? Never heard of her so she must not be doing much. East paycheck for doing nothing.”
Watch a different elderly Democrat fall asleep in Congress here:
Featured image credit: By flickr user KCIvey – https://www.flickr.com/photos/kcivey/1398796080/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6052793