116th United States Congress


The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the United States [House of Representatives|House of Representatives]. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021, during the final two years of Donald Trump's first presidency. Senate elections|Senators elected to regular terms in 2014] finished their terms in this Congress, and [|House] seats were apportioned based on the 2010 census.
In the November 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party won a new majority in the House, while the Republican Party increased its majority in the Senate. Consequently, this was the first split Congress since the 113th Congress of 2013–2015, and the first Republican Senate–Democratic House split since the 99th Congress of 1985–1987. This Congress was the youngest incoming class by mean age, compared to the previous three the incoming class of freshman representatives, and the most demographically diverse in history.
Upon joining the Libertarian Party on May 1, 2020, Justin Amash became the first member of Congress to represent a political party other than the Democrats or the Republicans since Rep. William Carney, who served as a Conservative before switching to the Republican Party in 1985. Before joining the Libertarian Party, Amash had been serving as an Independent since his departure from the Republican Party on July 4, 2019. Paul Mitchell also left the Republicans in December 2020, becoming an independent. Neither incumbent ran for re-election.

Major events

Major legislation

Enacted

Proposed (but not enacted)

Major resolutions

Adopted

Proposed

Leadership

Senate

Presiding

Majority (Republican) leadership

Minority (Democratic) leadership

House of Representatives

Presiding

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Demographics

Most members of this Congress were Christian, with approximately half being Protestant and 30.5% being Catholic. Jewish membership is 6.4%. Other religions represented included Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. One senator said that she was religiously unaffiliated, while the number of members refusing to specify their religious affiliation increased.
Roughly 96% of members held college degrees. All but 128 members were non-Hispanic white, and all but 131 members were men.

Senate

The Senate included 74 men and 26 women, the most women to date. In 6 states, both senators were women; 14 states were represented by one man and one woman; and 30 states were represented by two men. During this Congress, Johnny Isakson retired for health reasons and Kelly Loeffler was appointed, which increased the number of women from 25 after the 2018 elections to 26. There were 91 non-Hispanic white, 4 Hispanic, 2 black, 2 Asian, and 1 multiracial senators. Additionally, 2 senators were LGBTQ+. The average age of Senators at the beginning of this Congress was 62.9 years.

House of Representatives

There were 101 women in the House, the largest number in history. There were 313 non-Hispanic white, 56 black, 44 Hispanic, 15 Asian, and 4 Native American congressmembers. Eight were LGBTQ+. Two Democrats — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donna Shalala — were the youngest and oldest freshmen women in history. Freshmen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were the first two Muslim women and freshmen Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland were the first two Native American women elected as well. The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 116th Congress was 57.6 years.
With the election of Carolyn Maloney as the first woman to chair the House Oversight Committee, women chaired a record six House committees in a single Congress, including House members Maxine Waters, Nita Lowey, Zoe Lofgren, Eddie Bernice Johnson and Nydia Velázquez, as well as Kathy Castor, who chaired the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. In addition, women chaired a record 39 House subcommittees. Lowey and Kay Granger were also the first women to serve as chair and ranking member of the same committee in the same Congress since the since-defunct Select Committee on the House Beauty Shop, which was chaired and populated entirely by congresswomen during its existence from 1967 to 1977.

Diversity of the freshman class

The demographics of the 116th U.S. Congress freshmen were more diverse than any previous incoming class.
At least 25 new congressional representatives were Hispanic, Native American, or people of color, and the incoming class included the first Native American women, the first Muslim women, and the two youngest women ever elected. The 116th Congress included more women elected to the House than did any previous Congress.

Members

Senate

The numbers refer to their Senate classes. All class 1 seats were contested in the November 2018 elections. In this Congress, class 1 means their term commenced in the current Congress, requiring re-election in 2024; class 2 means their term ends with this Congress, requiring re-election in 2020; and class 3 means their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 2022.

Delaware">List of United States senators from Delaware">Delaware


Kansas">List of United States senators from Kansas">Kansas


Mississippi">List of United States senators from Mississippi">Mississippi


New York">List of United States senators from New York">New York


South Carolina">List of United States senators from South Carolina">South Carolina


West Virginia">List of United States senators from West Virginia">West Virginia


House of Representatives

Delaware">List of United States representatives from Delaware">Delaware


Kansas">List of United States representatives from Kansas">Kansas


Mississippi">List of United States representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi


New York">List of United States representatives from New York">New York


South Carolina">List of United States representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina


West Virginia">List of United States representatives from West Virginia">West Virginia


Committees

Section contents: Senate, House, Joint

Senate

CommitteeChairRanking Member
Aging Tim Scott Bob Casey Jr.
Agriculture, Nutrition and ForestryPat Roberts Debbie Stabenow
AppropriationsRichard Shelby Patrick Leahy
Armed ServicesJim Inhofe Jack Reed
Banking, Housing and Urban AffairsMike Crapo Sherrod Brown
BudgetMike Enzi Bernie Sanders
Commerce, Science and TransportationRoger Wicker Maria Cantwell
Energy and Natural ResourcesLisa Murkowski Joe Manchin
Environment and Public WorksJohn Barrasso Tom Carper
Ethics Johnny Isakson
James Lankford 		Chris Coons
FinanceChuck Grassley Ron Wyden
Foreign RelationsJim Risch Bob Menendez
Health, Education, Labor and PensionsLamar Alexander Patty Murray
Homeland Security and Governmental AffairsRon Johnson Gary Peters
Indian Affairs John Hoeven Tom Udall
Intelligence Richard Burr
Marco Rubio 		Mark Warner
International Narcotics Control John Cornyn Dianne Feinstein
JudiciaryLindsey Graham Dianne Feinstein
Rules and AdministrationRoy Blunt Amy Klobuchar
Small Business and EntrepreneurshipMarco Rubio Ben Cardin
Veterans' AffairsJohnny Isakson
Jerry Moran 		Jon Tester

House of Representatives

CommitteeChairRanking Member
AgricultureCollin Peterson Mike Conaway
AppropriationsNita Lowey Kay Granger
Armed ServicesAdam Smith Mac Thornberry
BudgetJohn Yarmuth Steve Womack
Climate Crisis Kathy Castor Garret Graves
Education and LaborBobby Scott Virginia Foxx
Energy and CommerceFrank Pallone Greg Walden
EthicsTed Deutch Kenny Marchant
Financial ServicesMaxine Waters Patrick McHenry
Foreign AffairsEliot Engel Michael McCaul
Homeland SecurityBennie Thompson Mike Rogers
House AdministrationZoe Lofgren Rodney Davis
Intelligence Adam Schiff Devin Nunes
JudiciaryJerrold Nadler Doug Collins
Jim Jordan
Modernization of Congress Derek Kilmer Tom Graves
Natural ResourcesRaúl Grijalva Rob Bishop
Oversight and ReformElijah Cummings
Carolyn Maloney 		Jim Jordan
Mark Meadows
James Comer
RulesJim McGovern Tom Cole
Science, Space and TechnologyEddie Bernice Johnson Frank Lucas
Small BusinessNydia Velázquez Steve Chabot
Transportation and InfrastructurePeter DeFazio Sam Graves
Veterans' AffairsMark Takano Phil Roe
Ways and MeansRichard Neal Kevin Brady

[|Joint]

CommitteeChairVice ChairRanking MemberVice Ranking Member
EconomicMike Lee Carolyn Maloney
Don Beyer 		David Schweikert Martin Heinrich
Inaugural Ceremonies Roy Blunt Nancy Pelosi Kevin McCarthy Amy Klobuchar
LibraryRoy Blunt Zoe Lofgren Rodney Davis Amy Klobuchar
PrintingZoe Lofgren Roy Blunt Amy Klobuchar Rodney Davis
TaxationRichard Neal Chuck Grassley Ron Wyden Kevin Brady

Employees and legislative agency directors

Also called "elected" or "appointed" officials, there are many employees of the House and Senate whose leaders are included here.

Senate

House of Representatives

Legislative branch agency directors

Elections

Membership lists