Congress is considering changes to the retirement rules for U.S. Capitol Police officers as lawmakers face a growing volume of threats and the department struggles with recruitment and retention. Under the current framework, officers who qualify for waivers can extend service beyond forced retirement at 57, but the proposals now being advanced would increase the latest eligible age for extensions.
The Senate has passed legislation that would let Capitol Police officers apply to extend their service until age 62, according to the Associated Press report published May 14. Separately, the House passed a bill earlier this year that would allow officers to serve until age 65.
Supporters say raising the retirement age could help address personnel shortages across the force and keep experienced officers on duty. Capitol Police Chief Michael J. Sullivan told lawmakers earlier this year that shortages “span all operational units,” tying staffing pressure to the department’s ability to protect members.
During a March oversight hearing, Sullivan said concerns about the staffing burden were compounded by overtime. He said drafts are frequent and push officers “to the limit,” and he also said that funding for the protective intelligence function that shields lawmakers and others is “very slim.” He told lawmakers that some officers had left the force for other federal agencies offering better benefits, saying: “There’s nothing keeping folks here.”
Sullivan warned that the retirement rules can force departures just as officers approach the point where they can accumulate long-term experience. He told House appropriators in March that the size of the affected workforce is large enough that forcing them out would damage the department’s ability to function, saying: “We have 300 officers right now that could say I’m done, I’m ready to walk away,” adding that “That would be catastrophic for us.”
Senate and House supporters framed the legislation as a modest step to match staffing to the security demands. California Sen. Alex Padilla, the top Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee, authored the Senate bill with Senate Rules Committee Chairman Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and said the legislation would keep older officers who have built institutional knowledge and experience. 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,” and he said, “After bicameral and bipartisan discussions, I hope to see this measure signed into law.”
Padilla also pointed to the scope of the waiver pipeline, saying nearly 60 sworn officers are already working on a retirement waiver—more than double the size of a typical recruitment class. “No officer should be forced to retire when they can still do the job,” said Republican Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Administration Committee.
The retirement proposals come as the Capitol Police reports a heavier threat workload for protecting members of Congress and those around them. Threats against lawmakers have “more than doubled” over the last five years, according to the department, and in 2025 it said nearly 15,000 threats were investigated against members of Congress—an increase of 58% from 2024. Sullivan told lawmakers that the number of threats in 2026 was on track to be even higher.
The department says it has overhauled security measures for members since the force was overwhelmed during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. It has also boosted security for lawmakers and their families in districts nationwide and has worked with local police departments it reimburses. A January report said the force saw an increase in threat reporting after a center launched two years earlier to receive and process threat reports, and it said lawmakers in both parties receive a “wide range of threats.” The additional work, Sullivan told lawmakers, requires more personnel and experience—especially from officers later in their careers.