United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice, consider executive and judicial nominations, and review pending legislation.
In addition, the Standing Rules of the Senate confer jurisdiction to the Senate Judiciary Committee in certain areas, such as considering proposed constitutional amendments and legislation related to federal criminal law, human rights law, immigration, intellectual property, antitrust law, and internet privacy.

History

Established in 1816 as one of the original standing committees in the United States Senate, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is one of the oldest and most influential committees in Congress. Its broad legislative jurisdiction has assured its primary role as a forum for the public discussion of social and constitutional issues. The committee is also responsible for oversight of key activities of the executive branch, and is responsible for the initial stages of the confirmation process of all judicial nominations for the federal judiciary.

Nominations

The committee considers presidential nominations for positions in the DOJ, including the attorney general and the director of the FBI, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the State Justice Institute, and certain positions in the Department of Commerce and DHS. It is also in charge of holding hearings and investigating judicial nominations to the Supreme Court, the U.S. court of appeals, the U.S. district courts, and the Court of International Trade.
If a majority on the committee votes to advance a nomination, the nominee is reported favorably to the whole Senate, which can vote by simple majority to confirm the nominee.

Oversight

The Judiciary Committee's oversight of the DOJ includes all of the agencies under the DOJ's jurisdiction, such as the FBI. It also has oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.

Members, 119th Congress

;

Majority	Minority
Chuck Grassley, Iowa, Chair Lindsey Graham, South Carolina John Cornyn, Texas Mike Lee, Utah Ted Cruz, Texas Josh Hawley, Missouri Thom Tillis, North Carolina John Kennedy, Louisiana Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Eric Schmitt, Missouri Katie Britt, Alabama Ashley Moody, Florida	Dick Durbin, Illinois, Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Chris Coons, Delaware Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Cory Booker, New Jersey Alex Padilla, California Peter Welch, Vermont Adam Schiff, California

Subcommittees

Committee leadership

Chairs

Ranking members

Name	Party	State	Start	End
	Democratic	Nevada	1947	1949
	Republican	Wisconsin	1949	1953
	Democratic	Nevada	1953	1955
	Republican	Wisconsin	1955	1963
	Republican	Illinois	1963	1969
	Republican	Nebraska	1969	1976
	Republican	South Carolina	1977	1981
	Democratic	Delaware	1981	1987
	Republican	South Carolina	1987	1993
	Republican	Utah	1993	1995
	Democratic	Delaware	1995	1997
	Democratic	Vermont	1997	2001
	Republican	Utah	2001	2003
	Democratic	Vermont	2003	2007
	Republican	Pennsylvania	2007	2009
	Republican	Alabama	2009	2011
	Republican	Iowa	2011	2015
	Democratic	Vermont	2015	2017
	Democratic	Illinois	2017	2021
	Republican	Iowa	2021	2023
	Republican	South Carolina	2023	2025
	Democratic	Illinois	2025	present

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

;

Majority	Minority
Dick Durbin, Illinois, Chair Dianne Feinstein, California Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Chris Coons, Delaware Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Cory Booker, New Jersey Alex Padilla, California Jon Ossoff, Georgia Peter Welch, Vermont Laphonza Butler, California Adam Schiff, California	Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, Iowa John Cornyn, Texas Mike Lee, Utah Ted Cruz, Texas Josh Hawley, Missouri Tom Cotton, Arkansas John Kennedy, Louisiana Thom Tillis, North Carolina Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights	Amy Klobuchar	Mike Lee
The Constitution	Dianne Feinstein Laphonza Butler	Ted Cruz
Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism	Cory Booker	Tom Cotton
Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights	Sheldon Whitehouse	John Kennedy
Human Rights and the Law	Jon Ossoff	Marsha Blackburn
Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety	Alex Padilla	John Cornyn
Intellectual Property	Chris Coons	Thom Tillis
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Richard Blumenthal	Josh Hawley

117th Congress

;

Majority	Minority
Dick Durbin, Illinois, Chair Patrick Leahy, Vermont Dianne Feinstein, California Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Chris Coons, Delaware Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Cory Booker, New Jersey Alex Padilla, California Jon Ossoff, Georgia	Chuck Grassley, Iowa, Ranking Member Lindsey Graham, South Carolina John Cornyn, Texas Mike Lee, Utah Ted Cruz, Texas Ben Sasse, Nebraska Josh Hawley, Missouri Tom Cotton, Arkansas John Kennedy, Louisiana Thom Tillis, North Carolina Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights	Amy Klobuchar	Mike Lee
The Constitution	Richard Blumenthal	Ted Cruz
Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism	Cory Booker	Tom Cotton
Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights	Sheldon Whitehouse	John Kennedy
Human Rights and the Law	Dianne Feinstein	Josh Hawley
Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety	Alex Padilla	John Cornyn
Intellectual Property	Patrick Leahy	Thom Tillis
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Chris Coons	Ben Sasse

116th Congress

;

Majority	Minority
Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, Chair Chuck Grassley, Iowa John Cornyn, Texas Mike Lee, Utah Ted Cruz, Texas Ben Sasse, Nebraska Josh Hawley, Missouri Thom Tillis, North Carolina Joni Ernst, Iowa Mike Crapo, Idaho John Kennedy, Louisiana Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee	Dianne Feinstein, California, Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, Vermont Dick Durbin, Illinois Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Chris Coons, Delaware Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Cory Booker, New Jersey Kamala Harris, California

;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Mike Lee	Amy Klobuchar
Border Security and Immigration	John Cornyn	Dick Durbin
The Constitution	Ted Cruz	Mazie Hirono
Crime and Terrorism	Josh Hawley	Sheldon Whitehouse
Intellectual Property	Thom Tillis	Chris Coons
Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts	Ben Sasse	Richard Blumenthal

115th Congress

;

Majority	Minority
Chuck Grassley, Iowa, Chair Orrin Hatch, Utah Lindsey Graham, South Carolina John Cornyn, Texas Mike Lee, Utah Ted Cruz, Texas Ben Sasse, Nebraska Jeff Flake, Arizona Mike Crapo, Idaho Thom Tillis, North Carolina John Kennedy, Louisiana	Dianne Feinstein, California, Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, Vermont Dick Durbin, Illinois Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Chris Coons, Delaware Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Cory Booker, New Jersey Kamala Harris, California Al Franken, Minnesota

In January 2018, the Democratic minority had their number of seats increase from 9 to 10 upon the election of Doug Jones, changing the 52–48 Republican majority to 51–49. On January 2, 2018, Al Franken, who had been a member of the committee, resigned from the Senate following accusations of sexual misconduct.
;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Mike Lee	Amy Klobuchar
Border Security and Immigration	John Cornyn	Dick Durbin
Crime and Terrorism	Lindsey Graham	Sheldon Whitehouse
Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts	Ben Sasse	Richard Blumenthal Chris Coons
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Jeff Flake	Chris Coons Al Franken
The Constitution	Ted Cruz	Mazie Hirono Richard Blumenthal