Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a leader in the progressive movement, said his current term would likely be his last one in Congress.
Sanders, 83, has been a member of Congress since 1991 – first serving as a Representative from Vermont before becoming one of the state’s Senators in 2007.
He was re-elected in November to another six-year term, but said it would likely be his last when asked by Politico on Tuesday.
“I’m 83 now. I’ll be 89 when I get out of here. You can do the figuring. I don’t know, but I would assume, probably, yes,” Sanders told the news outlet.
Since entering Congress in 2007, Sanders has been largely responsible for pushing the progressive movement into the mainstream. He is a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
He advocates for enacting legislation to fight climate change, gun violence, police brutality, excessive military spending, student debt, and wealth inequality.
Sanders also vocally supports LGBT+ rights, reproductive freedoms and universal healthcare.
His stance on policies has made him popular with young people. One Morning Consult poll from earlier this year found that Sanders was among the senators with the highest approval rating.
Though Sanders is technically an independent, he caucasus with Democrats and ran as a canidate in the Democratic presidential primaries in 2016 and 2020.
But that has not stopped him from being critical of the party.
After Donald Trump won the election, Sanders called out Democrats for abandoning working-classs Americans and failing to appeal to them with relatable policies.
“The average American is hurting. You’ve got to recognize the reality of what’s going on. And I’m not sure that enough Democrats are doing that,” Sanders told Politico.
