Days after launching a primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in the name of refreshing the Democratic Party with new, younger leadership, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton said Monday he would support a constitutional amendment to cap the age for individuals serving in Congress.
“I’m not sure exactly what that age limit should be,” Moulton said. “I think we should have that discussion, we should have that debate and whatever we decide, I will try to pass it into law and if that effort fails, I’ll hold myself to that standard if I’m ever in that position.”
The congressman’s comments came as part of an appearance on GBH’s Boston Public Radio and they reflect a popular sentiment among U.S. voters.
According to a 2023 Pew Research Poll, 79% of Americans favor maximum age limits for federal elected officials and 74% support capping the age for Supreme Court justices.
Moulton, 46, who has publicly criticized elder congressional Democrats for failing to make space for younger elected officials within the leadership ranks, launched his bid against Markey, 79, last week. Markey will be up for reelection next year, and has already collected some high-profile endorsements.
The “problem” with a U.S. Senate bid at age 80, Moulton said, is that an elected official would be 86 in their final year in office.
“And we’ve seen what happened with [California U.S. Senator] Dianne Feinstein, [U.S. Supreme Court Justice] Ruth Bader Ginsburg, [former President] Joe Biden — all of whom looked great when we elected them,” said Moulton, pointing to recent examples of political figures whose illnesses impacted the national political system.
After Biden gave an unusually weak debate performance while seeking reelection against Trump last June, Moulton and others called for the former president to step aside. Eventually, Biden bowed out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Later, Biden revealed he’d been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
Ginsburg, who was not elected, but rather nominated to the nation’s high court by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1993, died in 2020 at age 87 while still holding the office.
Feinstein was the oldest sitting U.S. senator and resisted calls to resign before her death at 90 years old in 2023. Health issues kept her away from the Senate for extended periods, resulting in many missed votes.
Moulton said the nation can no longer afford such risks and that he sees an urgency for change. He has also vowed not to vote for Sen. Chuck Schumer to continue in his role as the Democratic leader of the Senate if elected.
“Too many Democrats keep doing the same thing and we keep losing elections,” Moulton said.
“I don’t think people look at Sen. Markey, Sen. Schumer, with all due respect for their long careers in public service and say ‘OK, that’s the future of the Democratic party,’” he added.
Responding to a question from host Jim Braude, Moulton also said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren should also face a primary challenge if she seeks a fourth term.
“Sure, I think she should,” Moulton answered.
Warren was reelected to a third Senate term in 2024; she will be 81 when she’s up for reelection in 2030.
The Salem congressman also slammed President Donald Trump for “acting like a child” for his response to “No Kings” protests against his administration in towns and cities across the country over the weekend. Trump posted an unusual, AI-generated video of himself wearing a crown while piloting a fighter jet that dumps sewage on protesters.
“The fact that he thinks that this is an appropriate way to act as the President of the United States, as the leader of the free world, as the commander-in-chief is just really sad,” Moulton said.
