Congressional Age and Tenure Data Show Mixed Trends Since 1981

The mean age of House members rose from approximately 49 at the start of the 97th Congress in 1981 to around 58 at the opening of the 119th Congress in 2025. Senate mean age increased from approximately 53 to 64 over the same period. Median ages in both chambers declined slightly between the 118th and 119th Congresses.

Graham of South Carolina died on Saturday after medical examiners preliminarily identified a tear in his aorta. Graham, who turned 71 two days earlier, had spent more than three decades in Congress. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, 84, disclosed that a June 14 fall had left him unconscious and that he had been treated for mild pneumonia.

McCormick of Pennsylvania has proposed limiting senators to two terms and representatives to six terms. An April 2026 NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 83 percent of Americans supported congressional term limits and 80 percent supported a maximum age for candidates. The same poll showed support across party lines.

The Center for Effective Lawmaking reported that committee chairs in the House recorded an average effectiveness score of 2.47 during the 118th Congress, compared with 1.44 for majority-party members and 0.55 for minority-party members. In the Senate the corresponding figures were 1.51, 1.11 and 0.88.

Representative Sam Graves of Missouri, then in his 12th term, sponsored 17 bills; eight passed the House and four became standalone laws. The average House member’s service stood at 5.4 terms at the opening of the 119th Congress, down from 6.2 terms at the start of the 112th Congress in 2011.

Thirty-five senators had served six years or less at the beginning of the current Congress.