Democrats have a problem: Their Representatives keep dying
Trump's massive Bill to strip the poor of social security and explode the deficit just passed the House 215-214. Why couldn't Democrats stop it? Their House members keep dying.
Opinion
Thursday morning, the House of Representatives passed Donald Trump’s tax bill, which aims to reduce taxes for the wealthy while cutting social security and Medicaid for the poor. Democrats criticized the bill in its entirety, but Republican fiscal hawks also had criticism since it would massively increase the US debt ceiling.
The vote in the house, where Republicans hold a slim majority, was close:
215-214 in favor. All 212 Democrats voted against the bill together with two Republican holdouts. But wait… Democrats won 215 seats last November, so why did they only have 212 votes?
The answer is simple: Three democratic representatives have died since the 2024 election.
Raúl Grijalva died in March 2025 at the age of 77 due to lung cancer.
Sylvester Turner also died in March 2025 at the age of 70
Gerry Connolly died yesterday (21st of May 2025) after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer last year
With Connolly’s death, the Democrats were one vote short of stopping Trump’s massive bill that threatens to hurt the poorest and explode the debt ceiling (which can cause economic troubles).
Why are Democrats so old?
All of these deaths were tragic and all of these men have a great record in public service. But the bigger picture remains: Three deaths just half a year into the two-year terms are hard to compensate. Today, with a Republican majority so slim, every vote can make the difference. Republican Governors are delaying the special elections to fill these vacancies left by Democrats to give their party an advantage in the House.
To avoid being so vulnerable, the Democratic Party could focus on nominating younger candidates (and yes, for a Democrat, under 75 means young). In 2024, a lot of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives were just… really old.
There are currently 30 Democratic lawmakers over the age of 75 serving in the House of Representatives, some of them are well beyond 80. About half of them told Axios they plan to run again in 2026. That includes 86-year-old Rep. Maxine Walters from California. If she runs again in 2026 and wins, she will be close to 90 years old when her term ends.
Last year's debate around Biden’s age-related problems and today’s vote showed the consequences and risks of nominating older Representatives. It should make Democrats consider younger alternatives. Republicans in Congress are younger than Democrats and it shows: The last 8 people to die in Congress were all Democrats. Three of those just in the last 6 months and this legislative period is far from over. Democrats need every single Representative to have a chance to stop Trump’s dangerous policies. Today, just one representative would have stopped Trump’s massive bill.
What can Democrats do?
There are already many calls for older lawmakers not to seek re-election, particularly if they are over 80 years old. With Democratic voters being incredibly dissatisfied with their party and their 74-year-old Senate leader Chuck Schumer, it may be the time to bring in new people. It’s not that there’s a lack of candidates. Almost all Democratic lawmakers above 80 could face primary challenges from younger Democrats. The leadership position of Chuck Schumer could also be up for discussion. He has been leading Democrats in the Senate for almost 10 years and did a good job from 2016 to 2024, but in this new era, he has struggled to deal with Trump. Most Democratic voters blame him for backing down from the fight to shut down the Government a few months ago. Democrats have plenty of exciting and younger Senators who could step up. Senator Klobuchar, Senator Murphy, and Senator Booker are just a few names. A new, younger Senate leadership, together with younger house candidates, could help lift the Democrats from an all-time popularity low and equip them with fresh faces to fight Trump’s tyranny.
Also, in this era of close decisions & votes, it might put a stop to the high number of deaths among their representatives that is currently giving Republicans a dangerous edge.