General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is arguing that older elected officials should make way for younger ones "Identity Politics?" [View all]EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)Are people questioning the age of an official or how long they've been in office?
Some older Members of Congress have been there less time than some of their younger colleagues. For example, Frederica Wilson, the Florida representative who nailed Trump's and Kelly's butts to the wall last year is 76 years old but has only been in Congress for 8 years. Compare that to Robert Aderholt from Alabama whose only 53 but has been in office for 21 years.
This is a particular issue for women and minorities who didn't have the opportunities that white men had to run for office and, thus, tended to get into politics later in life. For example, Nancy Pelosi has been in office for 31 years but didn't get elected until she was in her late 40s. If she had started when she was 30, like many of the men in office, and had a similar career trajectory, she would have become Speaker at approximately 50 instead of in her mid-60s.