Viral post calling Congress a 'nursing home' sparks intense debate over term limits as Trump prepares to take the White House

The United States Congress has been branded a 'nursing home' after Nancy Pelosi was pictured using her walking frame to get around the floor.

Heading into the 2025 session, the average age of Congress members is 79 days older than last session, at 58.9 years old.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 84, suffered a fall last month in Europe and underwent hip replacement surgery. 

She used a frame on Monday when she took part in a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election. 

But the striking image of that moment has sparked questions about whether people in their 80s should still be working in such crucial roles.

'Congress really has become a nursing home,' one social media user wrote.

'Term limits. That's what America demands,' another added.

The criticism comes as 78-year-old Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House as the oldest person to be elected President.

And President Joe Biden, 82, has been forced to swat away rumors about his cognitive decline throughout his presidency, particularly in the last 18 months.

His term was riddled with embarrassing gaffes and blunders, including introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as 'President Putin' at the NATO summit in July, bumping into flagpoles and falling off bikes.

The president's health has been back in the news since The Wall Street Journal published a story on December 19 on how aides dealt with a 'diminished' president throughout his entire term.

The report revealed that aides would have to repeat obvious instructions to Biden – such as where to exit a stage, scrapped meetings on his 'bad days', and kept him at arm's length from his own Cabinet members. 

Biden allegedly leaned on a close circle of unelected advisers and officials who had been put into roles usually occupied by the president. 

While the image of Pelosi has sparked criticism, she is not the oldest serving member of Congress. 

Delegate to the House Eleanor Norton holds that title at 87-and-a-half years old. Hal Rogers is also 87, while Maxine Waters is 86.

Steny Hoyer is 85, and Pelosi is 84, turning 85 in two months.

Republican congresswoman Kay Granger was recently found in a dementia care facility after she vanished from work.

A bombshell report in December revealed the 81-year-old Texas Representative, who hadn't cast a vote in the six months prior, was discovered at a memory care facility after reportedly being found wandering lost and confused through her neighborhood, according to an investigation by the Dallas Express.

Granger, who wound up a nearly 30-year career in the House in January, was reportedly living in the $4,000-a-month nursing home for the past six months.

Meghan McCain chimed in on X, writing: 'Don't tell me political media isn't a broken hellscape when a well known congresswoman can just go missing for six months and then show up in a dementia care facility. Like a congresswoman not showing up for 6 months wasn't noticed or worth writing about?!' 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, has also faced intense scrutiny after several concerning public episodes where he appeared to freeze mid-sentence.

To serve in the House, a member must be at least 25 years old, while the age restriction is set at older than 30 in the Senate.

The retirement age in the United States is 65. 

Pelosi was an outspoken advocate in 2023 of Supreme Court term limits, arguing that they would help hold the powerful justices 'to account.'

She has represented San Francisco in Congress for 37 years.