Dick Durbin, 80, Urges Other Elderly Lawmakers to Follow His Lead and Retire: Leave Before You Have to ‘Be Carried Out’
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) on Thursday encouraged older members of Congress to consider stepping aside while they are still able, a day after announcing he will not seek reelection in 2026.
Durbin, 80, told Morning Joe hosts Jonathan Lemire and Ali Vitali that lawmakers should evaluate their ability to continue serving effectively and leave office before their health forces them out.
“I think if you’re honest about yourself and your reputation, you want to leave when you can still walk out the front door and not be carried out the back door,” Durbin said. “You can see it. You can observe it. And you have to make that choice, that decision. I’ve made mine.”
Durbin, who has served in Congress for more than four decades, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982.
He served seven terms in the lower chamber before being elected to the Senate in 1996. Durbin has since been reelected to five additional terms.
On Wednesday, he told Chicago NPR affiliate WBEZ, “It’s time.”
“For some of them, there’s this miraculous aging process where they never seem to get too old,” Durbin added. “But you observe your colleagues and watch what happens.”
Thursday, Durbin told MSNBC that age alone should not determine fitness for office, but more people should want to leave with dignity.
“It is not just a question of a number, what your age is,” Durbin said. “Look at Bernie Sanders, for God’s sake, still drawing thousands and thousands of people out for rallies, and he’s a few years older than I am. The bottom line is, are you competent? Can you still do the job? That’s the question the voters should ask.”
Durbin said he hopes younger generations will feel motivated to pursue public service, and he supports older members of Congress getting out of their way.
Former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who died at age 90 in 2023, remained in office until shortly before her death despite health issues that led her to miss numerous Senate votes.
Watch above via MSNBC.
