Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Democratic Maryland Rep. David Trone are calling for term limits to be imposed on members of Congress.
DeSantis and Trone wrote that both chambers of Congress have become “dominated by career politicians,” in a joint op-ed for The New York Times published Wednesday, as the government shutdown reaches its 22nd day. The two former House lawmakers added that some members of Congress appear to be “more concerned with clinging to power than serving the public.”
“A government shutdown grips Washington, leaving Americans frustrated once again with partisan squabbling,” DeSantis and Trone wrote. “The endless stalemates and inability to find common ground are reflective of a deeper problem: The House and the Senate are dominated by career politicians, buoyed by re-election rates that routinely exceed 90 percent, who seem more concerned with clinging to power than serving the public.”
“In that spirit, the two of us — one a Republican and one a Democrat — will be the co-chairs of a national campaign with the organization U.S. Term Limits aimed at restoring accountability, competition and common sense on Capitol Hill,” they wrote further.
U.S. Term Limits is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which describes its mission as aiming to “enact term limits on all elected officials, especially the U.S. Congress.”
Trone, who is also the owner and founder of alcohol retailer Total Wine & More, represented Maryland’s 6th congressional district from 2019 to January 2025, and unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in 2024. DeSantis represented Florida’s 6th congressional district from 2013 to 2018.
Trone and DeSantis wrote later in the op-ed that Congress is “too often” a “self-serving closed club of political insiders.”
“Most members of Congress are, by any reasonable definition, career politicians.” Trone and DeSantis wrote. “In that way, Congress too often can be a self-serving closed club of political insiders looking to protect their power rather than a true forum of ideas aimed at benefiting the American public.”
“Some people see redistricting reform as a fix for what ails Washington. However, such reforms would do little to curb the advantages incumbents enjoy in primaries and safe districts, nor would they dismantle the seniority system that stifles innovation in Congress,” the pair wrote. “Redrawing district boundaries would not erase things like name recognition and fund-raising advantages that allow incumbents to cling to power.”
DeSantis and Trone also argued in their op-ed that “the concentration of power among career politicians fuels partisanship by empowering lobbyists who profit off longstanding relationships,” as well as fueling “public cynicism” about the U.S. government.
“We are the greatest nation on Earth; we deserve a Congress that reflects that greatness, not one that serves as a retirement home for career politicians,” they concluded.
The median age of voting members in the House of Representatives is currently 57.5 years, while the median age in the Senate is 64.7 years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released on Jan. 16. The median age of House Democrats is 57.6 and the median age of House Republicans is 57.5, per the report.
Recent reports have highlighted some older lawmakers facing scrutiny over their ability to keep serving in Congress functionally. Still, some older congressional Democrats are reportedly maintaining they do not intend to seek retirement ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The vast majority of U.S. adults, 87%, said they favor limiting the number of terms that members of Congress are able to serve, according to a Sept. 2023 report from Pew Research Center.
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