Democratic Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perezs push to confront cognitive decline in Congress is finding rare common ground among liberals and conservatives frustrated with Washingtons aging political class.
“In every job I’ve ever had, there’s a simple expectation,” the congresswoman said in a video posted to X on Monday. “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.”
Gluesenkamp Perez proposed an amendment to the FY27 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill in May that would have required “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.” The amendment was ultimately rejected by voice vote.
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The congresswoman maintains that the fight to rein in what she calls the “gerontocracy,” a term meaning rule by the elderly, is not over. Reactions on social media indicate that she may have allies on the other side of the aisle.
“I agree with her, again,” Daniel Miressi, a Republican running to represent Connecticuts 4th Congressional District, said in response to Gluesenkamp Perezs video.
“Mandatory cognitive testing to be a politician?” Crémieux, a popular anonymous right-wing X account, wrote. “Extremely based. We should’ve had this sooner.”
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Some on the right lamented that Republicans werent focusing on issues like this.
“If only Republicans in swing districts were savvy enough to advocate for issues like this, banning congressional stock trading, etc. instead of screaming stop deporting illegals,” Breitbart News political editor Bradley Jaye posted in response to Gluesenkamp Perezs video.
Gluesenkamp Perez has criticized the consequences of an aging political class â particularly lawmakers remaining in office despite cognitive decline â for some time. In 2025, she argued that members who were too old to hold office and refusing to retire damaged public confidence in Congress.
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The debate has frequently cited the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose health and reported cognitive decline became a source of concern for Democrats before her death in 2023.
Just as her proposal attracted bipartisan support, it invited criticism from both sides of the aisle as well.
“[Majority Democrats] just wants a younger generation of corporate stooges,” Mason Pressler, a school board member and organizer for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sa
