Elderly senators have mixed feelings about Nikki Haley's call for 'mandatory mental competency tests' for politicians over 75

• Nikki Haley is calling for "mandatory mental competency tests" for politicians over the age of 75.
• Over a sixth of the US Senate is age 75 or older. We asked some of them what they thought about the idea.

Nikki Haley is calling for "mental competency tests" for politicians over the age of 75 — a category that includes more than one-sixth of current US senators, both presumptive presidential frontrunners, and more than 30 current US House members.

Insider asked some of the 16 senators aged 75 and older what they made of Haley's idea. While some suggested they'd be willing to take such a test, others were dismissive.

"Oh, Christ," said Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, 79. "I'd have to think about that before I respond to that."

The one-time US ambassador to the UN and former South Carolina governor floated the idea — perhaps intended primarily as a dig at 80-year-old President Joe Biden or even 76-year-old former President Donald Trump — near the conclusion of her speech at her 2024 presidential campaign launch in South Carolina on Wednesday.

"In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire," declared Haley, who is 51. "We'll have term limits for Congress, and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old."

"America is not past our prime," Haley also said. "It's just that our politicians are past theirs."

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a fellow South Carolinian who's backing Trump over Haley, had only good things to say about the idea.

"I think it should be lower," quipped Graham, who at age 67 is only slightly older than the average senator. "Anybody dumb enough to run [for president] should have to take a test."

Plenty of politicians have floated the idea of term limits, and polling by Insider and Morning Consult has previously found that more than 41% of Americans view the ages of political leaders as a "major" problem — and over 80% support physical and mental examinations for top political leaders. And the science shows that age certainly takes a toll on one's mind.

But on Wednesday, the topic was enough to illicit prickly reactions from corners of the Senate's 75-and-over club, which includes well-known lawmakers like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, two-time Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and the now-retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

"I think she should test her own mental competency," said Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who recently turned 75. "Come on, how many times has she said she's fighting Trump, and then the next thing you know, she's kissing his ring?"

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the oldest Republican senator at age 89, suggested that voters could evaluate candidates without such tests.

"I think you need to look at my last election," said Grassley, who just won re-election by campaigning in part on his seniority. "People knew me and my age, and I won by 15%. The people know that I'm in a position to do the work."

(Grassley's margin of victory was a little more than 12 percentage points and it was his most competitive reelection since he first won his seat in 1980.)

Others declined to weigh in at all.

"I really don't comment on Republican presidential announcements," said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who just turned 77. "I'm not going to comment on that."

Some aging lawmakers expressed general openness to taking the test.

"Well, if it's required, of course I would," said Risch.

"I don't have any problem with that. That's fine," said Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who turns 76 in March. "What was that great line that Ronald Reagan used against Walter Mondale, 'I won't let your youth and inexperience become an issue in this campaign?'"

Reagan, who was 69 when he was first elected president in 1980 and revealed his Alzheimer's diagnosis in 1994, famously conquered concerns about his advanced age on the campaign trail.

It's unclear whether such a cognitive requirement is feasible, let alone constitutional.

But by pushing the idea publicly, Haley clearly hopes to tap into broader concerns about so-called "gerontocracy," which Insider explored last year as part of its "Red, White, and Gray" series.

Polling by Insider and Morning Consult also found last year that both Trump and Biden — Haley's two chief political adversaries, as of now — are both seen by majorities of voters as being too old to serve in public office.