116th United States Congress


The 116th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the [|Senate] and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and will end on January 3, 2021, during the third and fourth years of the Presidency of Donald Trump. Senators elected to regular terms in 2014 are finishing 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 is 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 is the youngest incoming class by mean age in the past three cycles and the most demographically diverse ever.
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. Amash joined the Libertarian Party after serving as an independent since July 4, 2019.

Major events

Enacted


Adopted

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

Most members of this Congress are Christian, with approximately half being Protestant and 30.5% being Catholic. Jewish membership is 6.4%. Other religions represented include Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. One senator says that she is religiously unaffiliated, while the number of members refusing to specify their religious affiliation increased.

Senate

The Senate includes 74 men and 26 women — the most women to date. In 6 states, both senators are women; 14 states are represented by 1 man and 1 woman; and 30 states are represented by 2 men. During the 116th Congress, Georgia had Johnny Isakson retire, and Kelly Loeffler was appointed. This increased the amount of women from 25 after the 2018 elections to 26. There are 91 non-Hispanic white, 4 Hispanic, 2 black, 2 Asian, and 1 multiracial senators. Additionally, 2 senators identify as LGBTQ+.

House of Representatives

There are 101 women in the House, the largest number in history. There are 313 non-Hispanic whites, 56 black, 44 Hispanic, 15 Asian, and 4 American Indian. Seven identify as LGBTQ+. Two Democrats — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donna Shalala — are the youngest and oldest freshmen women in history. Freshmen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are the first two Muslim women and freshmen Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland are the first two female American Indian members.
With the election of Carolyn Maloney as the first woman to chair the House Oversight Committee, women now chair a record six House committees in a single Congress, including representatives Maxine Waters, Nita Lowey, Zoe Lofgren, Eddie Bernice Johnson and Nydia Velázquez, as well as Kathy Castor who chairs the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. In addition, women chair a record 39 House subcommittees. Lowey and Kay Granger are also the first women to serve as chair and ranking member of the same committee in the same Congress since the 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 persons 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 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.

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House of Representatives

For further information, see List of current members of the United States House of Representatives.

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Caucuses

Changes in membership

Senate

House of Representatives

Committees

Section contents: Senate, House, Joint
Listed by chamber and then alphabetically by committee name, including chair and ranking member.

Senate

CommitteeChairRanking Member
Aging Susan Collins 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