I find the question absurd not because of the valid concern presented, but that we even have to ask. Congress has wrongly become a place where such questions are not unusual.

Mitch McConnell has been in the United States Senate since 1985. He’s been serving in Washington for 41 years. Don’t misunderstand me, I have respect for the good senator from Kentucky and his decades of service. But whether or not he is alive at this moment should not be a trending topic.

Recently, Rep. Tom Kean of New Jersey was absent for nearly four months without telling the public or his colleagues why. He resurfaced after a 142 day hospitalization for depression. I don’t make light of anybody’s need for mental health, and people should absolutely seek the treatment they need, but I’m tired of reading about elected leaders who have been mentally or physically absent for weeks and months on end without stepping aside or, at the very least, providing transparency to the public. It’s not fair to their constituency or our country.

In a recent interview with the Deseret News, former Senator Mitt Romney was asked if he would consider running for President again. Mitt answered, “I basically think people who are 80 and above really should not be running the world or running the country.” He also referenced research cited by Bill Bryson, stating, “He points out that the human brain shrinks by 20 percent by the time you’re 80 years of age.”

We need term limits and perhaps even age limits for elected representatives. We already require retirement across numerous professions: commercial pilots at 65, admirals and generals at age 64, federal law enforcement at 60, and air traffic controllers at 56. This is because these jobs are too important and demanding to risk impaired cognition. Lawmaking should be no exception. We need leadership that we can trust to be hard at work, protecting and defending the American people, every day.

While I hope for the health and recovery of every elected official, we shouldn’t have to ask if they’re showing up to work or not, let alone if they’re alive.