The Present and Future of the Gerontocracy

POLITICAL PROBLEMS OF THE LONGEVITY TRANSITION

- RONALD BAILEY

WE HAVE A sclerotic gerontocracy," posted 48-yearold Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) in December.

Khanna's outburst on X was provoked by the revelation that an 81-year-old Rep. Kay Granger (RTexas), who had been absent from Congress for months, had in fact been diagnosed with dementia and was residing in a memory care facility.

"I'm more concerned about the congressmen who have dementia and are still voting," joked a 53-year-old Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Only a year earlier Sen. Dianne Feinstein (DCalif.), who had long been failing in health and mental acuity, died in office at age 90.

At its simplest, gerontocracy means rule by the elderly. President Joe Biden's dodderingly disastrous debate in June floodlighted for many Americans just how sclerotic our governing institutions have become. Notably, President Donald Trump, at 78, is the oldest person ever elected to the office. (Biden was a close second at 77 when he won the election in 2020.) That's slightly more than double the U.S. population's median age of 38.9.

Current octogenarian congressional leaders include Rep.

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was 82 when she stepped down as speaker of the House, and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who was 82 when he resigned as Senate minority leader. The 91-year-old Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), currently serving as president pro tempore of the Senate, is third in the line of presidential succession.