A Democratic congresswoman retiring at age 68 has told her seniors in the party hierarchy to resign early.
Annie Kuster, who has represented New Hampshire’s second congressional district since 2013, also described a troubling trip on Air Force One with Joe Biden last year.
Her comments came as it emerged that Kay Granger, an 81-year-old Republican congresswoman from Texas, has spent the past six months in a nursing home collecting her $174,000 salary while absent from congressional votes.
That sparked outrage over older politicians clinging to power and led to accusations that the US is governed by a “gerontocracy.”
Kuster told the Boston Globe: “I’m trying to set a better example. I think there are colleagues – and some are still very successful and very productive – but others who just stay forever.”
She added: “I always said I wouldn’t stay forever. By being so focused on seniority, Congress tends to target a much older population.”
The congressman spent an hour with Biden on Air Force One in March.
“I came to the conclusion in my heart that this would be a very challenging campaign for him, and that it would be an uphill battle to put himself on the market for another four-year term,” she told the Boston Globe .
She said Biden spoke “very softly” and his aging was clearly visible.
Annie Kuster retires from Congress at age 68 to ‘set a better example’
The congresswoman said she didn’t know if there were attempts by people around Biden to hide the effects of that aging, but his team “may” have done so.
She told the Globe, “It was hard for me at the time, like, what can one person do? You know, I’ve talked to people about it and talked to the campaign, it’s just hard to know looking back on it.”
Kuster announced her own retirement later that same month.
The following month, she had a “painful” Zoom call with Biden in which moderate Democrats questioned his abilities, the Globe reported.
“I haven’t had these kinds of conversations since I talked to my own parents about, you know, their aging and their limitations,” she told the newspaper.
The congressman’s comments came amid growing accusations that Biden’s team covered him up.
U.S. President Joe Biden (C) flanked by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) (2nd from left), Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) (L), Representative Annie Kuster (D-NH) (3rd from left), Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH) (2nd from left) and New Hampshire Department of Transportation Commissioner Victoria Sheehan (L) tour the NH 175 Bridge over the Pemigewasset River in Woodstock, New Hampshire on November 16, 2021
According to a recent bombshell report from the Wall Street Journal, the White House hired a vocal coach, put other officials in roles usually filled by the president, canceled meetings on Biden’s “bad days” and kept him at a distance from his own Cabinet members . .
The administration has also blasted those who dared to claim that Biden’s abilities had deteriorated since he was Barack Obama’s vice president.
A well-connected Democratic strategist confirmed to DailyMail.com that influence over Biden during this time was “concentrated by people who are not outward-looking,” including his closest advisers Bruce Reed, Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress this month overlooked 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the party’s top role on the House of Representatives’ powerful oversight committee.
Instead, they chose 74-year-old Congressman Gerry Connolly.
He was supported by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who is 84.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35, lost to a 74-year-old for a key Democratic post
Jen Psaki, Biden’s former press secretary, joined the chorus Thursday calling for a new generation.
She said, “While I have deep respect for Speaker Pelosi and nothing at all against Congressman Connolly, this felt like an obvious opportunity to apply some of the lessons we should have learned from the November election.”
“Instead, Democrats passed over one of the youngest, most media-savvy members of Congress for a key public leadership role.”
Democrat Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who is retiring from Congress at age 55, said, “It’s time to elevate the best and brightest. We have literally stopped them from moving up to leadership positions, which means they go elsewhere.”