Nikki Haley, Bernie Sanders battle over her competency test proposal

Feb. 20—Nikki Haley's proposal for competency tests for politicians over 75 provoked a strong response from a former two-time candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Haley, 51, called for mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 during the Feb. 15 announcement of her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. She is a former governor of South Carolina.

If implemented immediately, President Joe Biden (80), former President and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (76) and 16 U.S. Senators including 10 Democrats, four Republicans and Independents Bernie Sanders (81) and Angus King (78) would be required to take a competency test.

Sanders, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2016 and 2020, said on Face the Nation, a CBS Sunday morning show, Haley's proposal was absurd.

"We are fighting racism, we're fighting sexism, we're fighting homophobia, I think we should also be fighting ageism," Sanders said. "Trust people, look at people and say, 'You know, this person is competent, this person is not competent.' There are a lot of 40-year-olds out there who ain't particularly competent. Older people, you know, you look at the individual, I don't think you make a blanket statement."

Haley said on Twitter that Sanders's comments were "exactly what a career politician and socialist would say."

Sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist, has served as an elected official for more than 40 years including over 16 years in the Senate, 16 years in the U.S. House and two days short of eight years as the mayor of Burlington, Vt. He also was involved in political activity at the University of Chicago and ran for governor of Vermont twice as a member of the Liberty Union Party.

Haley added her proposal was about transparency.

"The Washington establishment is afraid of the people finding out some of our leaders aren't fit to serve," Haley said.

A news release from her campaign added the Montreal Cognitive Test takes 10 minutes and is commonly used by health professionals.

"Elected officials have to grapple with difficult decisions on serious issues every day," the campaign added. "They should be transparent about their ability to handle the job they signed up for."