U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, 81, was forced to acknowledge her lengthy absence from Congressional votes when reports revealed the congresswoman was a resident of a senior living facility in Fort Worth. Granger’s age-related health concerns have brought the highly contentious issue of retirement-age politicians back into the spotlight.
Granger announced in 2023 she would not seek re-election and last cast a vote in the House in July. The octogenarian has reportedly experienced "dementia issues" after not previously disclosing her health concerns.
"As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” Granger said in a press release. “However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed, making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable."
Granger stepped down as chair of the House Committee on Appropriations in March, but critics say she should have relinquished her seat in the House as well.
"Honestly, I think if she was not available, she should have stepped down," Abraham George, chairman of the Texas GOP, said to CBS News Texas. "I get it. She was retiring the last year or so. She said she is not running again, so we expected something as serious as this that she should have stepped down and let a special election happen."
The representative from Fort Worth isn’t the only politician who has received pleas to step down. After multiple lapses in speech were caught on camera, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, 81, battled calls to retire. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 84, the former Speaker of the House, controversially announced her bid for reelection in 2023. Pelosi was an outspoken champion for fellow Californian, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who, at 90, was the oldest member of the Senate upon her death in 2023.
The debate involving elected officials' ages reached a boiling point when President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection following mass scrutiny in 2024. Frequent irregular speech patterns, balance issues and failure to respond to questioning brought heavy criticism surrounding the President’s age, so much so that his physician released a five-page health memo at Biden’s request.
“President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency,” said the memo from White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
Immediately upon his Nov 5. election victory, Donald Trump became the oldest president-elect in American history and will be 82 when he completes his second term. The advanced ages of the past two presidents caused experts to classify the American government as a “gerontocracy,” a government with officials significantly older than most of their adult constituents. Pundits point out that the required retirement age for military officers is 65, arguing the Commander in Chief should be subject to similar limitations. Newly retired Utah Sen. Mitt Romney called for both Trump and Biden to drop the race in favor of younger candidates.
"Oh, I think it'd be a great thing if both President Biden and former President Trump were to stand aside and let their respective party pick someone in the next generation," Romney said to reporters.
Similarly, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat representing the Austin area, was the first sitting Democrat to call for Biden to abandon the presidential race, also citing the President’s age. Doggett, 78, first assumed office in 1995.
A recent study from the Pew Research Center found 79% of Americans support maximum age limits for elected officials serving in the capital. North Dakota has started to take small steps toward addressing old age among office holders. In 2024, the state passed a law that makes it illegal for representatives to run for office if they would turn 81 before the end of their term. Canada has enforced a retirement age of 75 for their senators since 1965. In Texas, state judges are the only elected officials with required retirement ages. A proposal in 2023 aimed to increase that age from 75 to 79, but failed.
State government officials are progressively getting older. The average age of Texas lawmakers during the 2021 session was 54; in 2023 it was 57. The Texas House of Representatives is younger than the Senate by 6 years. The average age for Texas senators is 60 and for representatives 54.
Several older incumbents retired ahead of the 89th Legislative Session, but not all. Here are the oldest politicians representing Texans at the state and national levels in 2025:- U.S. Rep. John Carter, Republican of Texas, 83
- U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Texas, 78
- U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, Republican of Texas, 76
- Texas Rep. Tom Craddick, Republican of Midland, 81
- Texas Rep. John Bryant, Democrat of Dallas, 77
- Texas Rep. John Raney, Republican of College Station, 77
- Texas Sen. Bob Hall, Republican of Edgewood, 82
- Texas Sen. Robert Nichols, Republican of Jacksonville, 80
- Texas Sen. Judith Zaffirini, Democrat of Laredo, 78
- Texas Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, Democrat of McAllen, 78
