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Dick Durbin speaking to the press in October 2022.
Is the average age of a Democratic lawmaker about to drop?
Democrats have been waging a battle over who gets to bear torches for the party in the 2026 midterm elections. As GZERO’s Riley Callanan reports, young Democrats have been organizing primary challenges to older incumbents, including 85-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Until recently, 80-year-old Jan Schakowsky was also on the list, facing a challenge from 26-year-old influencer Kat Abughazaleh.
The average age of Democrats in Congress is 59, per Quorum, the third-oldest cohort since 1789. The Senate Democratic caucus is even older, with an average age of 63. Some of the older senators, like Durbin and 78-year-old Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are retiring as their seats go up for reelection next year. Others, like Ed Markey and John Hickenlooper, who are 78 and 73, respectively, are running for another six-year term, complicating efforts to freshen up the caucus. Only one Democratic senator running for reelection next year, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, is under 50.
The push to lower the average age of Democrats in Congress comes after criticisms that 82-year-old former President Joe Biden hurt the party’s chances at holding the White House as he fought to stand for reelection.FILE PHOTO: Taylor Swift attends a premiere for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 11, 2023.
Taylor Swift controversy sparks new porn bill
After nonconsensual deepfake porn of pop singer Taylor Swift bounced around the internet in recent weeks, US lawmakers have proposed a fix.
The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act, introduced by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin with Republican cosponsors, would give victims of this digital abuse the right to sue for damages from anyone who “knowingly produced or possessed the digital forgery with intent to disclose it.”
Swift has reportedly considered taking legal action in light of the new images. Microsoft, meanwhile, has taken steps in response to the incident to close loopholes in its software that allowed users to make such images.The bill has bipartisan support in the Senate, but squeezing it through a legislative agenda crowded with bills on government funding, border security and Ukraine aid, there’s no clear path to a swift passage.