The Boomer politicians who won't retire

不愿退休的婴儿潮一代政治家

Today, Explained

2026-07-25

36 分钟
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Democratic Congressman James Clyburn turned 86 years old this week. He has no plans to retire. This show was edited by Kasia Broussalian, fact checked by Esther Gim, mixed by Shannon Mahoney, video edited by Christopher Snyder, and hosted by Astead Herndon. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) announcing he is running for a 18th term. Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images. You can also watch this episode on ⁠⁠youtube.com/vox⁠⁠. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: ⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠⁠. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  • Considering the southern death of Lindsey Graham and whatever's going on currently with Mitch McConnell,

  • it got me thinking, just how old is Congress?

  • Let's do some research, shall we?

  • 80% of voters think that term limits should be required.

  • I want to say oligarchy, but with old, like the oldigarchy.

  • At the start of this congressional term, the median age for a U.S.

  • Senator was 64,

  • and the median age for a member of the House was 57. Let's look up the oldest members of Congress.

  • Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C. Steny Hoyer, the Maryland congressman, he's retiring.

  • Maxine Waters, who is running for re-election, is 87 years old.

  • We're now in the third oldest U.S.

  • Congress in all of history, according to a recent analysis from NBC News.

  • But it's not like politics has ever been a young person's game.

  • However, the problem is getting worse.

  • There are 20 members of the House and Senate that are over 80 years old.

  • Trump, after getting reelected, was the oldest president to take office.

  • And of course, there was the whole Biden fiasco.

  • The COVID, excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with.

  • The gerontocracy feels like a huge problem in American politics.

  • So why won't the boomers retire?