Scoop: House Democrats want a long-awaited age reckoning

• Several House Democrats argued that vacancies created by the deaths of Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), all in their 70s, may have been outcome-determinative.
• "You see where we are, we can't afford to lose anymore members. ... We're down three people because they passed away," one lawmaker told Axios just off the floor as the House was voting on the bill.
• Said another ahead of the vote: "The tragic reality is, when ... this vote passes and the difference is the number of members who passed away this Congress, I think it's going to really infuriate many of our supporters."

By the numbers: The eight members of Congress who have died in office since November 2022 were all Democrats, with an average age of 75.

• A half dozen of those deaths were just in the 13 months since last April.
• Grijalva's seat won't be filled until a special election is held in late September. Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has scheduled the election for Turner's seat on Nov. 4, to the fury of Democrats.
• Some Democrats fear Virginia's Republican governor may similarly drag his feet on scheduling a contest to replace Connolly.

Between the lines: Of the House's 10 oldest members, seven are Democrats, Axios' April Rubin reported.

• "Some folks have given their life to this place, and we're so grateful and commend them for it — you don't have to die in this place," the first House Democrat said.
• "I definitely think that someone in leadership needs to have some hard conversations and say … 'you don't [have to] keep doing this.'"

State of play: In interviews with a dozen House Democrats on Wednesday and Thursday, many said the time for those difficult discussions has come.

• Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer candid thoughts about a highly sensitive topic without facing backlash from their colleagues.
• "This is something that Democrats come up to me [and ask about] all the time, everywhere I go, like, 'You guys need a fresh face. A fresh message and a fresh face,'" said a third House Democrat.
• A fourth told Axios it's nothing personal to older members, but "the people don't own the seats, and we just look so f**king out of touch."
• "I think this could force a conversation," a fifth House Democrat said of Connolly's passing on Wednesday.

What to watch: It is not yet clear what reforms younger Democrats will pursue, though several floated a renewed push for committee leadership term limits as a way to incentivize older members to retire.

• Republicans "don't have seniority over there. We do. That could be something that gets discussed," the fifth House Democrat said.
• "The incentives, on our side, cause people to be here a long time," said a sixth lawmaker. "There's a conversation to be had there."
• A seventh told Axios that when committee term limits were instituted in their state legislature, "I think it ended up being for the better. ... It was exciting to be on a team where it felt like everyone had an equitable shot."

The intrigue: Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Democrats' long-suffering champion of committee term limits, said he is handing off the baton as he nears 70 in an attempt to lead by example.

• "I've passed the torch to the next generation. It was a little bit ironic that it was a couple of boomers arguing for generational change," the 69-year-old, who was first elected to Congress in 2008, told Axios.
• The fourth House Democrat who spoke anonymously said there are "a bunch of us" planning to make that push — but that "it can't happen right now" in the immediate wake of Connolly's death.

Yes, but: House Democrats' older members aren't about to concede anything.

• More than half of the 30 House Democrats over 75 years old are running again, and many attest to their vigorous health. A sizable portion of them are facing or are expected to face primary challenges.
• Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), 70, and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), 76, have expressed interest in running to replace Connolly as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
• They may face 47-year-old Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a member of House Democratic leadership who could try to use his strong relationships with colleagues to overcome his relative lack of seniority.

The bottom line: That this issue is bubbling up to the surface amid new revelations about President Biden's health only gives it more urgency, lawmakers said.

• "It's important. It's just more symbolically important. We've got Joe Biden hanging over here ... like a huge albatross," said the third House Democrat.
• "Then you add to this that the face of Congress just seems older. ... People keep hearing about all these older people who we have here and are like, 'Wait, what?'"

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