Joe Biden will bump into Ronald Reagan – who was only 78 years old when he left the White House in 1989 – as the oldest US president ever when he is sworn in on Wednesday.
Mr. Biden, whose doctor said in late 2019 that he is physically fit to serve as president, will be older on his first day in office than Mr. Reagan on his last. Mr. Biden, who turned 78 in November, will also replace President Trump as the oldest to assume the presidency.
Yet he is younger than many in the best jobs in Washington. Working well beyond the typical retirement age is one of the few points of bipartisan agreement in the country’s capital.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California is the oldest member of the Senate at 87, while Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is less than three months younger than her. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is 78.
Republican Representative Don Young of Alaska, the oldest person in the US House and a member of Congress since the Nixon administration, is 87 years old. His house’s three top Democratic leaders are not far behind: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina is 80, while House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland is 81.