An overwhelming majority of Americans support setting age caps for members of Congress, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released this week. The survey found that 8 in 10 respondents favor both maximum age limits and term limits for legislators, with support cutting across party lines despite the ideas being purely hypothetical at this stage.
The findings arrive as Capitol Hill grapples with an aging membership. The current Congress ranks as the third oldest in U.S. history, with a median age of 58 among House members and 65 in the Senate. Five members have died since last March, each aged 65 or older. Top leaders include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at 75, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who is 92.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative voters showed even stronger support for age restrictions in Congress. The poll found that 83% of Republicans backed maximum age limits, and nearly 9 in 10 supported term limits for legislators.
The issue has gained traction among Republican voters concerned about career incumbency and perceived disconnection from everyday concerns. Some conservative commentators have argued that term limits would break up entrenched power structures, while age caps could bring fresh perspectives to lawmaking.
18-year-old Michael Hatch of Eudora, Kansas, said the generational gap affects how younger Americans view their government. "You've got 70 and 80-year-olds in Congress... running the country," he told NPR. "It's just not doing it for young people. It's not representing people like me."
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive advocacy groups and Democratic voters have embraced age reform as part of a broader push for government responsiveness. The poll found that 78% of Democrats support both age caps and term limits for Congress.
Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University who studies generational differences, said the data reflects a desire for leadership that keeps pace with changing times. "People can be in office longer, but should they?" Twenge asked, noting that as life expectancy has increased, Americans are retiring later yet still want younger voices in government.
Patricia L., a 62-year-old Democratic voter from Phoenix who asked to be identified only by her first name, said generational representation matters for addressing issues like housing affordability and economic opportunity. "When I think about the current generation of young adults and what they're facing, things like affordability, things like housing... we have to have those voices in the room," she told NPR. "I think that's why some young people get so disengaged from politics, because they feel like they're not being heard."
What the Numbers Show
The NPR/PBS News/Marist survey of 1,322 respondents was conducted April 27-30 using live caller, text and online methods. The poll carries a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Comparing Congress to the broader workforce reveals a stark age gap: The median age of an American worker is 42 years old, compared to 58 for House members and 65 for senators. This makes Capitol Hill significantly older than the population it represents.
Support for age caps spans generations nearly equally. Older voters were just as likely to favor maximum ages for legislators as younger respondents, according to the poll. Gen X voters—those in their late 40s to early 60s—showed the highest levels of support for both term and age limits.
A separate survey from research firm AlphaROC, shared first with NPR, found that more than six in 10 adults aged 18-29 believe politicians do not represent the interests of people their age. An overwhelming majority of young respondents said younger candidates for office are not taken seriously.
The Bottom Line
While public support for age caps and term limits is broad, neither proposal faces serious legislative momentum. Constitutional experts have noted that setting maximum ages for Congress would require significant legal changes, andterm limit proposals have stalled repeatedly over decades despite recurring polling success.
The demographics of Capitol Hill show little sign of rapid change in the near term. Both President Trump, who returned to office at 78, and former President Biden, who left the presidency at 82, faced questions about their fitness for office during their tenures. Voters across party lines appear to want alternatives—but the path from public preference to constitutional reform remains long.