{"id":17103,"date":"2026-07-25T20:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T15:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17103"},"modified":"2026-07-25T20:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T15:34:52","slug":"rep-jim-clyburn-explains-why-he-wont-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17103","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Jim Clyburn explains why he won\u2019t retire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"zephr-anchor\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The gerontocracy is real: The median senator is 64 years old, and 20 members of Congress are over 80. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/07\/01\/books\/review\/gerontocracy-in-america-samuel-moyn.html?eafs_enabled=false\">One legal scholar called it<\/a> the \u201cold-igarchy.\u201d It seems the combination of President Donald Trump\u2019s recent 80th birthday, the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, and the currently unknown health status of Sen. Mitch McConnell has called collective attention to the advanced age of our elected officials \u2014 and with good reason.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">So this week, I talked with Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina on his 86th birthday. And I wanted to (delicately) ask a question that\u2019s been brewing in my head since the whole fiasco with then-President Joe Biden: Why don\u2019t the oldheads want to retire?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Over a long interview, I asked the House Democratic leader about generational change, shifts in the electorate on corporate PAC money and artificial intelligence, and whether he thinks there are any lessons to learn from the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">On the question of age, Clyburn told me, \u201cI know people who are 66 years old with much less energy than I have, and none of the experience that I have.\u201d Clyburn said he would also be open to a recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/26\/us\/politics\/age-cognitive-standards-congress.html\">proposed law calling for members of Congress to take cognitive tests<\/a>, though he dismissed the idea of term limits or an age cap.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Here\u2019s what else I learned:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>1. They aren<\/strong>\u2019<strong>t giving up power because they don\u2019t want to<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">That\u2019s the whole thing. The reason the boomers (and Clyburn\u2019s Silent Generation) won\u2019t step aside isn\u2019t that no one has asked. It\u2019s that they don\u2019t want to. And for Clyburn, I think the armor doubles as the blind spot. When I asked about younger generations being distrustful that older politicians can deliver, he invoked his grandparents, saying, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about what people call you. It\u2019s what you answer to that\u2019s the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">And while that <em>is<\/em> wisdom, hardened over the decades, I don\u2019t know if it works as well as a leadership philosophy. Stay the course and ignore the criticism can also be read as ignoring electoral feedback. \u201cI don\u2019t react to that stuff,\u201d Clyburn said, when asked about calls for generational change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>2. Clyburn says what the establishment thinks: It\u2019s the voters\u2019 fault<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Clyburn articulates the core view of establishment politics as cleanly as anyone: There is nothing much to change. He doesn\u2019t believe the party made significant errors in 2024, and he doesn\u2019t take the primary results in New York City, Colorado, and elsewhere to be anything other than a flash in the pan. Pushed on what political lesson he took from an administration built to stop Trump that ended with Trump back in office, he went to turnout: \u201cWhen the white vote turned out 71 percent two years ago, and the Black vote turned out 59 percent, you tell me whose fault that is.\u201d Asked directly whether the argument was that Black people let Kamala Harris down, he didn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cIn many instances, absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">At its heart, this is a philosophy that blames the voters and insulates the party establishment from reflection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But this is also why the next round of primaries is so important. It\u2019s easy to file New York, Colorado, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/politics\/494565\/graham-platner-allegations-assault-withdrawing-dropping-out\">Graham Platner\u2019s rise<\/a> in Maine as one-offs \u2014 local flukes, not an overwhelming trend. But the Michigan and Wisconsin primaries are coming, and those are the ones that decide whether this gets treated as a pattern. The temperature of the freakout is still yet to be set.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>3. He defends the establishment\u2019s alliance with the Congressional Black Caucus<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The moderate wing of the Democratic Party is held up, at the grassroots, by Black voters \u2014 particularly in the South. Clyburn knows that, and he defended both the alliance and the corporate policies that tie them together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Clyburn holds that taking corporate dollars is necessary for minority candidates who don\u2019t come from family wealth \u2014 \u201cI would challenge you to find me one single vote I have ever cast that pharma supported and my constituents didn\u2019t.\u201d He deferred to a pro-Israel colleague, Rep. Gregory Meeks, on questions of Israel: \u201cI\u2019m guided by Gregory Meeks.\u201d He made no apology for backing Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani in this year\u2019s New York mayor\u2019s race \u2014 the same Cuomo he\u2019d said should resign in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">I asked him what Black communities have gotten in exchange for that loyalty. His answer was an agenda: \u201cWhat did we get out of our support for Obama? What did we get out of our support for Biden?\u201d And that\u2019s a real answer. But I think there\u2019s also another one underneath it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">I see Clyburn\u2019s actions through the context of changing power within the Democratic Party, just as much as what\u2019s going on outside of it. The Black political class, specifically, is invested in holding its own position against the party\u2019s rising coalitions, immigrant communities in particular. That\u2019s part of what\u2019s at the heart of Clyburn\u2019s endorsements of Cuomo and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/podcasts\/496052\/abdul-el-sayed-electability-michigan\">Haley Stevens in Michigan<\/a>, and even the recent fight over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/24\/politics\/dnc-2028-primary-calendar-nevada-south-carolina-new-hampshire\">which states should vote first<\/a> in the Democratic presidential primary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><em>Find the full episode \u2014 including a bonus segment where Clyburn defends the party\u2019s approach to Israel \u2014 wherever you get your podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The gerontocracy is real: The median senator is 64 years old, and 20 members of Congress are over 80. One legal scholar called it the \u201cold-igarchy.\u201d It seems the combination of President Donald Trump\u2019s recent 80th birthday, the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, and the currently unknown health status of Sen. Mitch McConnell has&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/gettyimages-2265570383.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,10.732984293194,100,78.534031413613","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}