Congress is experiencing a mass retirement wave, with House lawmakers bolting for the exits at a higher clip than they have in at least the past decade amid pressure on older members to step aside.
Thus far, there have been 37 reps and eight senators — roughly 9.6% of congressional lawmakers up for re-election in both chambers — passing on defending their seat in the 2026 midterms, according to data compiled by Ballotpedia.
That’s the highest rate of retirements from the House at this stage in over a decade, though Senate retirements are even with what they were last year.
For context, at this stage of the 2024 cycle, there were only 25 House retirements.
The exodus comes against the backdrop of growing scrutiny of aging members of Congress over a year out from the Democratic revolt against former President Joe Biden, 82, fueled by fears about his mental acuity.
Within just the past week, multiple longtime pols, including House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 85, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), 80, and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), 53, all announced retirement plans.
