House Member From WA Finding Support Among Dems and GOP to Fight the Problem of Cognitive Decline

There are plenty of things about how the government operates today that the Founding Fathers never anticipated nor would approve of. One of those things is literal career politicians. Serving in the House or the Senate was never meant to be a never-ending lifestyle, but somehow that is what has happened. However, there is one Washington, D.C., politician who is at least trying to make a change in the swamp lifestyle.

“The average age of a member of Congress nowadays is 59, which makes this one of the oldest congresses, if not the oldest,” Michael McKenna explains.
— Washington Times Opinion (@WashTimesOpEd) July 20, 2026

Democrat Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez (WA-3) is fighting to confront the problem of congressional aging and cognitive decline. While it might seem like the ultimate uphill battle - who is going to declare themselves unfit to serve- Gluesenkamp-Perez is finding a lot of support on both sides of the aisle. On Monday, she posted a video on X and said, in part:

"In every job I've ever had, there's a simple expectation. You actually have to be able to do the work. Either you can do it or you can't. And Congress shouldn't be any different."

Back in May, Gluesenkamp-Perez proposed an amendment to the fiscal year 2027 (FY27) Legislative Appropriations Bill that would have mandated that:

"the Office of Congressional Conduct to develop a standard for what constitutes conduct that does not reflect creditably upon the House, as it relates to a member of Congress' ability to perform the duties of office unimpeded by significant irreversible cognitive impairment."

It was voted down by a voice vote. But Gluesenkamp-Perez is undeterred and vows to continue to battle the "gerontocracy" that permeates both the House and Senate. It is proving to be the one thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on. Daniel Miressi is a Republican running to represent Connecticut's 4th congressional district. He said, "I agree with her, again."

"Cremieux" is an anonymous popular right-wing X account that wrote, "Mandatory cognitive testing to be a politician? Extremely based. We should've had this sooner."

84-year-old Mitch McConnell has been absent from the Senate for more than a month. Now, one of his GOP colleagues is demanding answers and calling for term limits. pic.twitter.com/2uDYQ8uk6T
— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) July 20, 2026

Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez is no stranger to trying to lead Washington, D.C.'s reluctant congressional dinosaurs to the exit. She was one of an early group of Democrats who called on former President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 Presidential race after his horrific debate performance against Donald Trump in June of 2024.

Before the country watched the steady cognitive decline of Biden, Democrat California Senator Dianne Feinstein died while in office at age 90 in 2023. There were questions about her cognitive abilities as far back as April of 2022. More recently, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 84, has been absent from the Senate for more than a month after he reportedly fell at his Washington, D.C., home and then developed pneumonia. But that diagnosis was not readily released to the public.

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In a 2025 interview, Gluesenkamp-Perez stated:

"You should have members of Congress who are navigating those questions of health care and the medical conditions older people face. That makes a stronger body."

But like any other job, they should be mentally fit to do so.

Congress becoming an old folks' home has been a growing problem for some time. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez's elderly Democrat colleagues may be mad at her for proposing this bill, but there is a good chance they might forget why they're mad.