Emanuel Demands 75-Year Purge: Biden, Trump, Justices Face Forced Exit

Paul Riverbank, 1/22/2026Rahm Emanuel proposes mandatory retirement at 75, targeting aging leaders across all U.S. federal branches.

He delivered his remarks at the Center for American Progress, the kind of beltway think tank where rumors and press releases flutter harder than the air conditioning. The audience—a blend of exhausted Hill staffers, wonkish policy types, and a couple of former colleagues glancing at their phones—looked up, some with silent nods, others with raised eyebrows. It’s not the first time Washington has heard talk about limits, but Emanuel, who is 66 and would tie his own hands by this rule, pressed further: “If you’re calculating how long I’d have left—don’t bother. I’m part of the calculation.”

If adopted, the fallout lands fast. Biden, well past 75, would be out, as would former President Trump. Two Supreme Court justices—Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito—would retire immediately. Behind them, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Sotomayor, neither exactly spring chickens, would see the finish line creeping up. Congress? Seventeen senators and nearly four dozen representatives would be gone with the stroke of a pen—names that have written legislative text for decades shown the door in one day.

But this isn’t just about counting candles on a cake or policing birthday parties. Emanuel laces his age cap to a larger crusade against what he sees as the rot of too much time in the seat of power. “We’ve got justices under scrutiny for gifts, lawmakers chasing stock windfalls—clean it up. Age is the door, but we need everything—ethics, lobbying, real transparency.” It’s the kind of list that has long haunted reformers and just as often vanished into the Hill’s damp basement archives.

There’s more than a whiff of uphill battle here. The Constitution hands federal judges lifetime tenure for “good behavior,” an intentionally high bar. Congress has never so much as set a timer for itself—it’s a club that polices its own gates. Emanuel doesn’t blink at looming court challenges: “That’s not a reason to shrink away,” he told me, in that clipped way of his. “If anything, it’s a reason to lean in harder.”

And where’s public opinion? On this one, it’s largely with him. A 2023 Pew survey found huge majorities, both GOP and Democrat, want a maximum age for federal elected office. Support for a limit on Supreme Court justices runs almost as high—remarkable for such a fractured electorate. If bipartisanship is a trace element in Washington, perhaps it’s been hiding inside this idea all along.

Of course, some critics roll their eyes at blunt lines in the sand. “Experience doesn’t always fade at 75,” said a former Senator now teaching at Georgetown, “and sometimes, you need calm hands when the Capitol’s on fire.” Take a look at the median age in Congress—64. That’s already well past the nation’s average. And yet, for all the talk of wisdom, even the most seasoned elder sometimes just seems to miss the mood.

Emanuel’s proposal, for now, is just talk. A jolt, maybe, but no more law today than yesterday. The Constitution won’t bend easily, and those with eighty years behind their eyes don’t often hand over the keys without a tug of war. Yet in a town famous for inertia, even a clumsy shout about retirement can spark something—if nothing else, a conversation that once started, won’t quite end. America’s leadership is only getting older. Perhaps the real surprise is how ready the country seems to move the clock forward, at least in theory, if not yet in practice.

Rahm Emanuel doesn’t so much ease into a conversation as he barrels in. On a humid Wednesday in D.C., Emanuel—hair gone from storm-gray to bright white in what seems overnight—dropped his latest brick into the political pond: a blunt proposal for a mandatory retirement age of 75, sweeping across the entire federal government. In a city where tenure is king, he’s talking about sending them all home—the justices, the lawmakers, the president. “You can’t do that in the military, you can’t do it in corporate America, you shouldn’t do it in government. Thanks for your service—up and out.”He delivered his remarks at the Center for American Progress, the kind of beltway think tank where rumors and press releases flutter harder than the air conditioning. The audience—a blend of exhausted Hill staffers, wonkish policy types, and a couple of former colleagues glancing at their phones—looked up, some with silent nods, others with raised eyebrows. It’s not the first time Washington has heard talk about limits, but Emanuel, who is 66 and would tie his own hands by this rule, pressed further: “If you’re calculating how long I’d have left—don’t bother. I’m part of the calculation.”If adopted, the fallout lands fast. Biden, well past 75, would be out, as would former President Trump. Two Supreme Court justices—Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito—would retire immediately. Behind them, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Sotomayor, neither exactly spring chickens, would see the finish line creeping up. Congress? Seventeen senators and nearly four dozen representatives would be gone with the stroke of a pen—names that have written legislative text for decades shown the door in one day.But this isn’t just about counting candles on a cake or policing birthday parties. Emanuel laces his age cap to a larger crusade against what he sees as the rot of too much time in the seat of power. “We’ve got justices under scrutiny for gifts, lawmakers chasing stock windfalls—clean it up. Age is the door, but we need everything—ethics, lobbying, real transparency.” It’s the kind of list that has long haunted reformers and just as often vanished into the Hill’s damp basement archives.There’s more than a whiff of uphill battle here. The Constitution hands federal judges lifetime tenure for “good behavior,” an intentionally high bar. Congress has never so much as set a timer for itself—it’s a club that polices its own gates. Emanuel doesn’t blink at looming court challenges: “That’s not a reason to shrink away,” he told me, in that clipped way of his. “If anything, it’s a reason to lean in harder.”And where’s public opinion? On this one, it’s largely with him. A 2023 Pew survey found huge majorities, both GOP and Democrat, want a maximum age for federal elected office. Support for a limit on Supreme Court justices runs almost as high—remarkable for such a fractured electorate. If bipartisanship is a trace element in Washington, perhaps it’s been hiding inside this idea all along.Of course, some critics roll their eyes at blunt lines in the sand. “Experience doesn’t always fade at 75,” said a former Senator now teaching at Georgetown, “and sometimes, you need calm hands when the Capitol’s on fire.” Take a look at the median age in Congress—64. That’s already well past the nation’s average. And yet, for all the talk of wisdom, even the most seasoned elder sometimes just seems to miss the mood.Emanuel’s proposal, for now, is just talk. A jolt, maybe, but no more law today than yesterday. The Constitution won’t bend easily, and those with eighty years behind their eyes don’t often hand over the keys without a tug of war. Yet in a town famous for inertia, even a clumsy shout about retirement can spark something—if nothing else, a conversation that once started, won’t quite end. America’s leadership is only getting older. Perhaps the real surprise is how ready the country seems to move the clock forward, at least in theory, if not yet in practice.