A Senate Republican is calling on all elected officials to release their health records voluntarily, amid concerns about aging lawmakers in Congress and President Biden’s apparent mental decline.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican who is a gastroenterologist, said it should “certainly be a house rule” for candidates to make their health records public.
“If you want to be the president of the United States, or a senator, or a House member, then there is responsibility over and above that of just offering yourself,” Mr. Cassidy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It has to be that you can show that you have clarity.”
Mr. Cassidy, 65, said it had yet to be defined “what [clarity] means,” but said his call for candidate medical transparency reflects significant voter concerns about the ability of Mr. Biden and lawmakers to lead the nation.
Recent polls show three-quarters of voters in both parties believe Mr. Biden, 80, who has shown increasing frailty in public, is too old to run for another term.
The president on Sunday escalated those concerns, delivering a rambling press conference in Vietnam following the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, India. He told reporters at the conclusion of the press conference, “I’m going to bed,” before his handlers cut off his microphone.
The concern over aging or infirm elected officials extends to Capitol Hill, where the notoriously geriatric Senate is also raising questions about the competence of its lawmakers.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, is under pressure to resign by members of both parties following months of mental decline. The California Democrat and oldest serving female senator has awarded her daughter limited power of attorney over some of her affairs, but insists she is capable of carrying out her duties in Congress.
Lawmakers have also questioned the competency of 54-year-old Sen. John Fetterman, Pennsylvania Democrat who took office after suffering a significant stroke that has limited his ability to communicate and which led to an extended absence for treatment of depression.
On the Republican side, the Senate’s minority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, is facing increasing scrutiny by those in his own party following two separate incidents this summer in which he froze up while answering questions from the media.
Mr. McConnell, 81, has attempted to tamp down concerns by releasing letters from the attending physician of Congress, Dr. Brian P. Monahan, declaring him fit for work and blaming the freezing up on a concussion he suffered in March as well as dehydration.
Mr. Cassidy said Mr. McConnell’s response should be a model for other lawmakers.
“I think Mitch McConnell’s handled it perfectly,” Mr. Cassidy said. “His doctor is releasing not just the tests but the results of the tests. And with that, there is a transparency that allows people to move beyond [age] into what is actually the kind of science, if you will, the medical science, of how to evaluate. And I think that should be the standard that folks are held to, and I think he’s responded.”
Mr. Cassidy called the release of the letter by Mr. McConnell “a good start” for medical transparency, despite lingering questions from lawmakers about the longtime GOP leader’s health.
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican and an ophthalmologist, questioned Dr. Monahan’s letter.
“The doctor said that they ruled out seizure disorder from an EEG. A normal EEG doesn’t rule out seizures,” Mr. Paul told The Hill last week. “First of all, 25% of people who’ve had a brain injury end up having seizures after their injury.”
Mr. Paul, 60, also doubted dehydration was a cause of freezing up.
“When you get dehydrated you don’t have moments where your eyes look in the distance with a vacant look and you’re sort of basically unconscious with your eyes open. That is not a symptom of dehydration,” Mr. Paul said.
Voters are wary about aging lawmakers.
A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that two-thirds of those surveyed think age limits should be set for the president, members of Congress and Supreme Court justices.
An analysis by the Pew Research Center found the Senate’s median age continued to rise in the 118th Congress, to 65.3 years, up from 64.8 years in the 117th Congress, 63.6 in the 116th Congress and 62.4 in the 115th Congress.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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