Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has tried to make age an issue in the campaign, calling for competency tests for candidates over 75 years old. Haley said in April that “we need to have mental competency tests… starting at 75 just to make sure that these people deciding our national security, deciding our economy policy, deciding what happens to our kids in schools [sic]. It matters.”
That call for a “competency test” for candidates over 75 would also apply to Donald Trump. In truth, a competency test wouldn’t “diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or any other specific condition. However, the tests can be a helpful screening tool for mild cognitive impairment,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
But Haley thinks that lawmakers like Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden need to recognize their limitations and resign. McConnell suffered some kind of freezing episode for the second time in public on Wednesday leading to specific calls for his resignation.
“No one should feel good about seeing that any more than we should feel good about seeing Dianne Feinstein, any more than we should feel good about a lot of what’s happening or seeing Joe Biden’s decline,” Haley told “The Story” guest host Gillian Turner. “What I will say is, right now, the Senate is the most privileged nursing home in the country. I mean, Mitch McConnell has done some great things and he deserves credit. But you have to know when to leave.”
Resignation calls would be far louder and more widespread for Joe Biden if his staff and friendly media didn’t cover for him. The media refuses to make a big deal about his frequent vacations, amounting to 40% of his presidency. Nor has much of a fuss been raised about the president’s 30-hour workweek.
Haley thinks mental competency tests are necessary.
“I think that we do need mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75,” Haley said. “I wouldn’t care if they did them over the age of 50, but these people are making decisions on our national security. They’re making decisions on our economy, on the border. We need to know they’re at the top of their game. You can’t say that right now, looking at Congress.”
Should Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman be given a competency test too? Fetterman suffered a stroke and went through a serious bout of depression that forced his hospitalization earlier this year. Surely, if you’re going to give Trump a competency test, Fetterman and any other lawmakers who have had a debilitating illness need to have them, too.
And Senator Dianne Feinstein is not in any shape to fulfill her obligation to her constituents, much less run her Senate office. There have been bi-partisan calls for her to resign. But Democrats in California can’t decide on a replacement, so Feinstein remains in the Senate.
The good people of California had a chance to retire Feinstein in 2018 and didn’t. Now, Feinstein’s daughter is engaged in a legal war with her step-sisters over the estate of the senator’s late second husband, Richard Blum. It’s an unseemly end to a 50-year political career.
Feinstein continues to serve in Congress despite questions about her ability to hold office, including memory issues amplified by muddled public comments and concerns about her overall health following a bout of shingles that sidelined her for nearly three months.
The stakes for her party are huge. If she were to step down before her term ends in early 2025, Senate Republicans have said they would prevent another Democrat from taking her place on the Judiciary Committee to block President Joe Biden’s federal court appointments. The Democrats lack the 60 votes needed to change committee assignments.
There are 19 lawmakers who are at least 80 years old. Most of them chair powerful committees. This gives them no incentive to retire. Perhaps they should make the committee chairman a rotating position that changes every two or four years. Both parties could use the fresh blood in leadership positions.
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