Americans think the government is too old — and wide margins support term limits, age caps, and cognitive tests, an Insider/Morning Consult poll finds

• Most Americans want to see age caps in Congress, according to an Insider/Morning Consult poll.
• Same for term limits in the House of Representatives and Senate.
• Three in four respondents think the age of the government is a problem.

America's government is too old, and most Americans want dramatic changes to address the nation's expanding gerontocracy, according to a new Insider/Morning Consult poll.

Congressional term limits and medical examinations for elected leaders are among the measures garnering overwhelming support among poll respondents. Misgivings about age extend throughout the federal government, from the House of Representatives and Senate, to the presidency and courts, the survey indicated.

Such concerns transcend party politics — both Republicans and Democrats feel similarly — and age. Older respondents favor term limits even more than their younger counterparts. While majorities considered Congress out of touch on the issues as it pertains to their generation, young people felt particularly unrepresented, the poll found.

"There's near consensus among age groups —– both the oldest and the youngest voters —– and by party on all the political leaders being too old, or that being some problem," said Morning Consult senior reporter Eli Yokley.

Just 5% of the US Congress is under the age of 38, while nearly half the US population is, and a record-high 23% of Congress is over the age of 70, according to findings of Insider's "Red, White, and Gray" project, which explores the costs, benefits, and dangers of life in a democracy helmed by those of advanced age.

Term limits and age caps

You must be 25 years old to serve in the US House, 30 in the US Senate, but there's no ceiling — lawmakers can serve into their 80s, 90s, or even 100s.

But three in four poll respondents overwhelmingly favored instituting congressional age maximums.

Indeed, respondents were more supportive of age limits for people who steer legislation than they were for people who steer heavy machinery.

More respondents want to see age caps in Congress — 75% — than maximum ages for police officers (73%) and truck drivers (64%).

The greatest support for age maximums is reserved for aircraft pilots, with nearly four in five respondents backing such a limit. (Commercial pilots must retire at age 65, although some members of Congress want to raise that limit to 67.)

There's also substantial demand for term limits.

Presidents may only be elected to a maximum of two four-year terms, which 85% of respondents agree with.

In Congress, where there are no such limits, 84% would like to see term limits in the House of Representatives and 83% in the Senate. Recent congressional efforts to cap the number of terms a member of Congress may serve — either through legislation or a constitutional amendment — have attracted little support.

Another 75% overall want to see Supreme Court term limits, a policy which Democrats support a bit more than Republicans. Supreme Court justices, as well as other federal judges, receive lifetime appointments.

Health screenings

Respondents also support proposals for physical and mental examinations before top federal leaders are allowed to serve: 84% want such an examination for the presidency, 82% for the Supreme Court. 81% for the House and for the Senate, and 80% for the Cabinet.

Insider reported that some of Congress' more aged members have struggled with the demands of their duties, with congressional aides describing harrowing situations involving lawmakers who grow increasingly frail and even die while in office.

President Joe Biden, 79, and former President Donald Trump, 76, have also endured questions about their physical and mental health, and whether they're fully fit to serve. While both have periodically released information about their health, there are no legal requirements or standards for them to do so.

Voters also overwhelmingly prefer candidates that they believe are in touch with the needs of Americans even if they're less seasoned and lack political experience.

When asked to choose between a candidate that "has enough background and experience to serve in political office, even if they aren't as familiar with the needs and wishes of their voters" and a candidate "in touch with the needs and wishes of voters, even if they don't have as much political experience," nearly three in four respondents chose the latter.

Age, in general, is important to voters: seven in 10 said it was at least somewhat important when deciding who to vote for in an election. But age itself is often trumped by competing interests, such as a candidate's stances on issues (92% considered it important), experience (88%), candidate health (81%), and their party affiliation (75%).

"Let's remember what is ultimately most important to voters, is their preferred candidate or party wins. A lot of these other considerations take a backseat to that," said Cameron Easley, managing editor at Morning Consult. "Where we do see these kinds of issues wielded more effectively by younger candidates is in primaries, where it's easier to make the case and you're removing some of that partisanship."

Age is an issue

Broadly, respondents consider the age of government a problem: 41% of respondents called it a major problem, 37% a minor problem, and just 10% don't consider it a problem at all.

The sentiment is remarkably consistent regardless of political affiliation: 81% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats, and 75% of independents think the age of government is at least a minor problem.

Issues of profound importance to the nation's youth and future — technology, civil rights, energy, the environment — are largely in the hands of those whose primes have passed.

Even baby boomers and Gen Z agree: about four in five respondents from each generation also agreed that the government's age is problematic at some level.

Congress is perceived as out of touch across a substantial number of issues, with large majorities saying lawmakers are out of touch on higher education affordability, climate change, health care, Social Security benefits, the economy, and LGBTQ+ issues.

By comparison, the in-touch/out-of-touch figures for the executive branch showed the Biden administration was considered to be slightly more in touch on several issues compared to Congress. However, the same data about the Supreme Court found them to be slightly more out of touch, particularly on the issues of LGBTQ+ rights and access to abortion.

Voters want millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z to get their shot

Americans are well-informed about the age of their government. When asked to estimate the average age of Congress across the House and Senate, the median response was 60 years old — just under the true average of 61 years of age.

There's broad demand for representatives from new generations in the legislature: 35% of respondents said it'd be a good thing if there were more representation of Gen Z in Congress and just 14% thought it would be a bad thing.

The next Congress will almost certainly seat at least one member of Gen Z in Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old Florida Democrat who's expected to win in November. Republican Karoline Leavitt of New Hampshire, also 25, could join him, with a November win making her the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

Overall, over three times as many respondents thought it would be more of a good thing if there were more Gen X people in Congress than thought it would be a bad thing. Respondents also want more millennials: 40% thought it would be good to have more millennials, and just 14% thought it would be bad.

The ages of several specific political figures, including older leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell as well as younger political figures such as Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Secretary Pete Buttigieg, was also polled.

All told, 76% of respondents overall — and 66% of Democrats — said Biden is too old to serve in public office.

Meanwhile, 57% of respondents — and 37% of Republicans — said Trump is too old to serve.

In Congress, 62% said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 82, is too old to serve — among them, half of Democrats — and 54% think Mitch McConnell, 80, is too old to serve, including 52% of Republicans.

Very few respondents said they believe someone is "too young" to serve in public office; broad majorities across age demographics saw no issues with government officials in their 30s and 40s.

For instance, among Democrats, a mere 8% of respondents think Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is too young to serve at age 32, with 62% saying she's "the right age."

Respondents 65-and-up demographic were some of the more stalwart opponents of the nation's gerontocracy, and had some of the most strident views on policies that would address aged leaders retaining power.

"One way to look at it is a lot of these older people can remember a time when their leaders weren't quite as old as they are now," Easley of Morning Consult said. "It's not how they grew up, that could be at play here."

"Everybody loves their grandchildren," added Yokley.

When asked, "What do you think the ideal age is for someone who is running for public office?" the average response was just under 42 years old.

Such a politician would be younger than 94% of the current members of Congress.

The Insider/Morning Consult was conducted from September 8 through September 10, had 2,210 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.