(NewsNation) — As the advanced age of some U.S. political leaders has recently made headlines, a new survey found 79% of Americans favor maximum age limits for elected officials in Washington, and 74% back similar limits for Supreme Court justices.
The new Pew Research Center survey found that the majority of people in both parties agree age limits should be in place for federal elected officials and justices. Republicans are slightly more likely to support age limits for elected officials, while Democrats are more likely to support limits for Supreme Court justices.
According to the Pew Research Center, 82% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats support adding a maximum age limit for federal elected officials, while 82% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans favor a limit for Supreme Court justices.
On Capitol Hill, age has been a hot topic. Dianne Feinstein, a late U.S. senator from California, died early Friday at age 90. And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, an 81-year-old senator from Kentucky, has recently faced health scares after appearing to freeze during news conferences.
Pew Research Center also broke down the average age of political leaders. In the Senate, the average age is 65.3, 57.9 in the House and 63 among the nine current Supreme Court justices. On the global stage, the center found that President Joe Biden, who turns 81 in November, is the ninth-oldest national leader in the world.
The U.S. Constitution sets minimum age thresholds for presidents as well as members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. There are not minimum or maximum age limits set for Supreme Court justices. According to Pew Research Center, implementing maximum age limits would likely require amending the Constitution.