With some exceptions, there are certain professions or activities that are clearly a young person’s game, such as professional sports, mountain climbing, firefighting, and construction work. Apparently, serving in the United States Congress is not one of them.
24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of the current oldest members of Congress, using sources such as FiscalNote, oldest.org, and the biographical sections of websites of the legislators on the list. The ages of the current oldest member of Congress are as of Oct. 11, 2023.
The American Congress has become a gerontocracy, run by those much older than the median age of Americans. Prior to the passing of 90-year-old California Sen. Dianne Feinstein in September, the median age of senators was 65. (Also see, these 33 us senators are becoming more popular.)
Compared with the Senate, the makeup of the House of Representatives looks like high school government — the average age of the 118th Congress, which took office in January 2023, is 58 years. According to the website FiscalNote, this average was lowered because the number of representatives born in the 1980s almost doubled from the previous Congress, now standing at 64. To compare, the median age in the U.S. is 38.8 years, according to 2021 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Questions about the mental acuity of older legislators in Washington, D.C. have increased in recent years. The cognitive decline of Feinstein and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has raised concerns about the possible impact that advanced age can have on the performance of the nation’s older members of Congress. (These are U.S. senators who lost the most popularity.)
The current oldest legislator is Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who turned 90 in September. He has been in the Senate since 1981. Grassley has a ways to go to be the oldest person ever to grace the legislative chambers in Washington, however. That distinction belongs to Strom Thurmond, who served as senator of South Carolina until his death at 100 years old in 2003.
Here are the oldest current members of congress.
34. Lloyd Doggett (1946)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 77 years, 5 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Texas
- Assumed office: 1/9/1995
33. Barbara Lee (1946)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 77 years, 2 months, 25 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: California
- Assumed office: 4/21/1998
32. Ed Markey (1946)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 77 years, 3 months
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Democrat
- State: Massachusetts
- Assumed office: 7/16/2013
31: Alma Adams (1946)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 77 years, 4 months, 14 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: North Carolina
- Assumed office: 11/4/2014
30: Richard Blumenthal (1946)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 77 years, 7 months, 28 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Democrat
- State: Connecticut
- Assumed office: 1/3/2011
29: C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (1946)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 77 years, 8 months, 11 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Maryland
- Assumed office: 1/3/2003
28: David Scott (1945)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 78 years, 3 months, 14 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Georgia
- Assumed office: 1/3/2023
27: Jim Baird (1945)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 78 years, 4 months, 7 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Republican
- State: Indiana
- Assumed office: 1/3/2019
26: Bonnie Watson Coleman
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 78 years, 8 months, 5 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: New Jersey
- Assumed office: 1/3/2015
25: John Garamendi (1945)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 78 years, 8 months, 17 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: California
- Assumed office: 11/5/2009
24: Dick Durbin (1944)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 78 years, 10 months, 20 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Democrat
- State: Illinois
- Assumed office: 1/3/1997
23: Emanuel Cleaver II (1944)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 78 years, 11 months, 349 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Missouri
- Assumed office: 1/3/2005
22: Doris Matsui (1944)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 79 years, 16 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: California
- Assumed office: 3/10/2005
21: Jan Schakowsky (1944)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 79 years, 4 months, 15 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Illinois
- Assumed office: 1/3/1999
20: Angus King (1944)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 79 years, 6 months, 11 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Independent
- State: Maine
- Assumed office: 1/3/2013
19: Ben Cardin (1943)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 80 years, 6 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Democrat
- State: Maryland
- Assumed office: 1/3/2007
18: Virginia Foxx (1943)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 80 years, 2 months, 12 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Republican
- State: North Carolina
- Assumed office: 1/3/2005
17: Jim Risch (1943)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 80 years, 5 months, 8 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Republican
- State: Idaho
- Assumed office: 1/3/1990
16: Rosa DeLauro (1943)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 80 years, 7 months, 9 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Connecticut
- Assumed office: 1/3/1991
15: Kay Granger (1943)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 80 years, 8 months, 23 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Republican
- State: Texas
- Assumed office: 1/3/1997
14: Anna Eshoo (1942)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 80 years, 9 months, 28 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: California
- Assumed office: 1/3/1993
13: Frederica Wilson (1942)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 80 years, 11 months, 30 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Florida
- Assumed office: 1/3/2011
12: Mitch McConnell (1942)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 81 years, 7 months, 21 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Republican
- State: Kentucky
- Assumed office: 1/3/1985
11: John Carter (1941)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 81 years, 11 months, 31 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Republican
- State: Texas
- Assumed office: 1/3/2003
10: Bernie Sanders (1941)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 82 years, 1 month, 3 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Independent
- State: Vermont
- Assumed office: 1/3/2007
9: Danny K. Davis (1941)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 82 years, 1 month, 5 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Illinois
- Assumed office: 1/3/1997
8: Jim Clyburn (1940)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 83 years, 2 months, 20 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: South Carolina
- Assumed office: 1/3/1993
7: Nancy Pelosi (1940)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 83 years, 6 months, 15 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: California
- Assumed office: 6/2/1987
6: Steny Hoyer (1939)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 84 years, 3 months, 27 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: Maryland
- Assumed office: 5/19/1987
5: Maxine Waters (1938)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 85 years, 1 month, 26 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: California
- Assumed office: 1/3/1991
4: Hal Rogers (1937)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 85 years, 9 months, 11 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Republican
- State: Kentucky
- Assumed office: 1/3/1981
3: Bill Pascrell (1937)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 86 years, 8 months, 16 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: New Jersey
- Assumed office: 1/3/1997
2: Grace Napolitano (1936)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 86 years, 10 months, 7 days
- Serving in: House of Representatives
- Party: Democrat
- State: California
- Assumed office: 1/3/1999
1: Chuck Grassley (1933)
- Age as of Oct. 11, 2023: 90 years, 24 days
- Serving in: Senate
- Party: Republican
- State: Iowa
- Assumed office: 1/3/1981
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