GOP Sen. Cassidy: Senility Tests Should Be Mandatory For Government

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy on Tuesday called for mandatory senility tests for aging leaders of the federal government. Cassidy, who is a medical doctor, said that normally, cognitive impairment is “usually noticeable.”

Cassidy’s comments come as many of President Biden’s critics (and before him, President Trump’s) have openly suggested that he isn’t “all there” mentally.

In a Sunday interview with Axios’ Mike Allen, Cassidy had this to say about aging government officials in positions of power: “So anybody in a position of responsibility who may potentially be on that slope, that is of concern, and I’m saying this as a doctor.”

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Past History In Both Parties

Cassidy explained his reasoning in the interview, “I’m told that there have been senators in the past who, at the end of their Senate terms, were senile, I’m told that was true of senators of both parties.” Cassidy did not name names.

There is no shortage of aging lawmakers in either party.

Leading the list is 81-year old Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Right behind her are Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at 79, and the youngster, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, at a spry 70 years old.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley recently announced his intention to run for another 6-year term, at the age of 88.

President Joe Biden will turn 79 in November.

ABC reports that 195 of out 535 members of Congress are 65 or older.

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All Three Branches Of Government Would Be Effected

Members of the Supreme Court, who serve lifetime appointments, would also be impacted by any mandatory cognitive tests. The most recent Supreme Court additions appointed by President Trump, Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, are all relatively young. However, Justices Stephen Breyer is 83, Clarence Thomas is 73, and Samuel Alito is 71.

Since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last fall, liberals and even some Democrat members of Congress have urged Breyer to step down in order for Joe Biden to get a younger liberal on the court. 

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Question Of Mental Acuity Nothing New

The question of the mental capabilities of elected leaders is not a new thing.

Back in December of 2020, California Senator Diane Feinstein, then the oldest member of the Senate at age 87, during a hearing involving Big Tech grilled Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, seemed to not realize she had asked the same question twice.

In June, former White House Physician and now Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), and several other Republican members of the House called on Joe Biden to take a cognitive test after some unusual verbal gaffes at public events.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that Joe Biden would undergo a physical exam “soon,” but gave no specific date. At 79, Biden is the oldest man to serve as president.

Sen. Cassidy also said during his interview that cognitive tests for aging lawmakers was not about personal ambition or ideology but the ability to serve constituents in the best way possible. “We each have a sacred responsibility to the people of the United States. It is not about me. It is about my ability to serve the people.”