WASHINGTON \u2014 A wave of tragic deaths, illnesses and absences in Congress is fueling calls for major reforms \u2014 such as basic fitness-for-office standards and transparency requirements for lawmakers who take medical leave.<\/p>\n
During the current term of Congress, there have been six deaths<\/a>, numerous health scares, and sudden health-related disappearances of Sen. Mitch McConnell<\/a> (R-Ky.), 84, and Rep. Tom Kean Jr.<\/a> (R-NJ), 57, with minimal public explanation for weeks on end.<\/p>\n Members of Congress have access to on-demand healthcare through the Office of the Attending Physician, but they aren\u2019t required to undergo annual physical exams or to disclose that information publicly.<\/p>\n Sen. Mitch McConnell\u2019s team released a proof-of-life photo Sunday after the internet went wild with rumors about his condition. via REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a good idea,\u201d Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) told The Post about lawmakers getting annual physicals and sharing details with the public, though he was hesitant about whether that should be put into law. \u201cI mean, we\u2019ve had this debate on the presidential stage for a long time now.\u201d<\/p>\n Although there\u2019s no legal requirement to do so, presidents regularly get physical exams and share results with the public, though how much they share varies.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) similarly called it a \u201cgood idea\u201d for lawmakers to provide more disclosures about their health to the public, though he noted there hasn\u2019t been a lot of discussion about doing that in the upper chamber behind the scenes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis job is a very stressful job in which you are in many cases probably not eating the most healthy, nutritious diet and maybe in some cases don\u2019t have time to exercise,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of these recent experiences shine a light on [the fact that] you need to be taking care of yourself in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Tom Kean Jr. disappeared for months without a clear explanation of why. REUTERS<\/p>\n Capitol Hill was rocked this week by the shock death of Sen. Lindsey Graham<\/a> (R-SC), 71, due to heart problems, something that helped rekindle the debate about congressional transparency on lawmakers\u2019 health.<\/p>\n The calls for health transparency dovetail with popular demands for term limits and age limits.<\/p>\n \u201cCongress was never supposed to be an assisted living facility,\u201d Nick Tomboulides, chief executive officer for US Term Limits, bluntly told The Post. \u201cRight now, it is the most overpaid and underperforming institution in America.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Lindsey Graham\u2019s sudden death came in the midst of concerns about the age and health of lawmakers in Congress. Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n Congress hasn\u2019t gone a single day this year when all 535 voting members of both the House and the Senate showed up for roll call votes, though some of that is the result of early resignations in addition to unexpected deaths and health scares. <\/p>\n On Sunday, McConnell, who has been on the sidelines since June 14, finally gave the public key details of that health scare<\/a> after weeks of wild rumors flying around online that he might not even be alive.<\/p>\n That came on the heels of the months-long disappearance of Kean, who went from March 5 until late June without voting and with no explanation from his office other than \u201chealth issues\u201d during that time. He later told the public he was battling depression.<\/p>\n Rep. Tom Kean Jr. revealed his depression was the reason he missed time in Congress. Julian Leshay Guadalupe\/NorthJersey.com \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n \u201cIf you went missing from a company and you just didn\u2019t show up for your job for weeks on end, I believe they just call it a job abandonment, and they effectively terminate you,\u201d Dr. Sara Rosenthal, the founding director of the Program for Bioethics at the University of Kentucky, told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have rules like Congress, so that might be important.\u201d<\/p>\n The issue has plagued Capitol Hill for years. In 2024, for example, then-Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) was found in an assisted living facility<\/a> that specializes in memory care while she was still a member of Congress.<\/p>\n The average age of representatives is 57.9 years and of senators, 63.9 years. Getty Images<\/p>\n Rosenthal underscored that while McConnell and Kean<\/a> eventually divulged more details to the public about what was going on with them, they weren\u2019t legally required to do so.<\/p>\n She advocates<\/a> for having politicians submit to an independent health assessment and believes that there should be an age cap preventing pols over 70 on Inauguration Day from seeking the presidency. Rosenthal also cautioned that forcing lawmakers to disclose health information won\u2019t be a perfect system. <\/p>\n \u201cIf [doctors] have a very famous, very important patient, they may be more hesitant to do certain tests, and they may be reluctant to refer patients when they need to be referred because they don\u2019t want to lose the patient,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n One example of this is former President Joe Biden, who didn\u2019t take a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test during his presidency and later discovered he had prostate cancer after his White House departure.<\/p>\n Former President Joe Biden revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n Some lawmakers have seized on these concerns, with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) drafting legislation dubbed the \u201cDuty of Transparency Act,\u201d which would compel lawmakers to make a \u201cdisclosure statement<\/a>\u201d if they are going to be absent for several weeks. <\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s good to have transparency,\u201d Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told The Post. \u201cAt the same time, I understand the privacy that people want. I think the constituents want to know you can do the job.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott agreed some transparency is needed with lawmakers\u2019 health. Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), patients have strong privacy protections regarding their medical situations. But this can clash with the public\u2019s interest in understanding what\u2019s going on with the politicians running the country.<\/p>\n Some lawmakers, such as District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), 89, have faced scrutiny over their performance<\/a> in public hearings as they get older. Norton was scammed last year by a group claiming to be a cleaning crew that charged her some $4,400 for work her team claims it didn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton had given conflicting statements about whether she would seek reelection. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images<\/p>\n Police later concluded she showed \u201cearly stages of dementia,\u201d an assertion she has firmly disputed.<\/p>\n Ten sitting lawmakers in Congress have died while serving since 2023. Graham\u2019s death<\/a> was the most recent, and it was sudden.<\/p>\n But other lawmakers who died were older in age or had underlying conditions. For example, late former Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) ran for reelection in 2024 despite being diagnosed with esophageal cancer.<\/p>\n He briefly helmed the powerful House Oversight Committee before dying<\/a> in May of last year, less than five months into his new term in office. <\/p>\n Chuck Grassley, the third in line for the presidency, is older than the chocolate chip cookie at 92. AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite<\/p>\n Connolly\u2019s late former colleague, Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.)<\/a>, also announced a cancer diagnosis in 2024 but continued to pursue another term nonetheless. Grijalva died in March of last year. <\/p>\n