Rep. Maxine Waters said voter choice, not age thresholds, should determine who serves in elected office during a Thursday Capitol Hill discussion.

The 87-year-old California Democrat faces a primary challenge from 53-year-old Myla Rahman, a nonprofit executive and progressive candidate. Waters is among Congress’s oldest serving members and has defended her fitness for office based on performance rather than years.

What Waters Said About Age

“What do they do? What can you document? What can you give them credit for? What can you criticize them for?” Waters said. “If you do what it takes to evaluate, then you can decide.”

She emphasized that performance and effectiveness should guide voter decisions on age-related fitness. Waters declined to directly address questions about whether an 80-year-old president might be too old for office.

The Primary Challenge

Rahman has framed the race around generational change, noting the district’s average age is 36 years old. “People want new leadership,” Rahman said, citing her experience as a renter dealing with housing affordability and raising children in the district.

Rahman argued that elections focus on the future rather than past accomplishments. Waters counters that her experience and daily energy justify another term in Congress.

Waters’ Recent Activities

Waters appeared at an anti-ICE demonstration in downtown Los Angeles in February, standing before officers in riot gear as police deployed pepper balls and tear gas. “What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their constitutional rights,” Waters said at the time.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside City Hall before marching to the detention facility, where some agitators pushed a construction dumpster and blocked the building’s entrance, according to police.