Posted on 05/15/2026 10:16:51 AM PDT by Libloather
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is working to increase the retirement age for U.S. Capitol Police officers as the number of threats to lawmakers continues to climb and the department struggles to recruit and retain enough officers.
Legislation passed unanimously by the Senate on Thursday would allow Capitol Police officers to apply to extend their service until age 62, while a bill passed by the House earlier this year would allow them to serve until age 65. That would raise the current age from 60 for officers who apply for waivers to work beyond the legal forced retirement age of 57 or after 20 years of service, whichever comes later.
Raising the age could help the Capitol Police force stem personnel shortages, which Chief Michael Sullivan told Congress earlier this year “span all operational units.”
“We have 300 officers right now that could say I’m done, I’m ready to walk away,” Sullivan told House, appropriators in March, as officers hit their age limit or 20 years of service. “That would be catastrophic for us.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla, the top Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee, authored the bipartisan bill with Senate Rules Committee Chairman Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Padilla said the legislation is a modest step as increased security measures are put in place to address the rise in threats.
By keeping older officers on the force, Padilla said, “we’re talking about officers who have served for a long, long time and have a tremendous amount of institutional memory, experience and expertise.”
“After bicameral and bipartisan discussions, I hope to see this measure signed into law,” Padilla said.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
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Oh, and defund the police, dammit.
Expertise in shooting unarmed women in the head, beating unconscious women to death and leaving their weapons in bathrooms?
An early mandatory retirement age for congress would probably make everyone much safer
Nothing like having a bunch of over the hill geezers patrolling and lurching around to protect a bunch of over the hill geezers.
They’re keeping their handpicked stooges from aging out.
It’s good to be Deep State.
It seems Congress actually thinks those DEI hires can protect them.
why not just pull some cops in from NYC? I hear they are quitting in mass.
A lot of older men can be better than a lot of females as long as some level of physical health and fitness is maintained as a requirement.
“An early mandatory retirement age for congress would probably make everyone much safer.”
Harsh! They should be allowed to work until 65 too.
William Holden as the retiring, older overworked cop in The Blue Knight was able to run down, beat up and handcuff the bad guys while keeping the younger Lee Remick satisfied after his shift. He seemed to have not gained one pound in his career.
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