List of youngest members of the United States Congress


The following are historical lists of the youngest members of the United States Congress, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. These members would be the equivalent to the "Baby of the House" in the parliaments of Commonwealth countries; the U.S. Congress does not confer a similar title upon its youngest members.
Youngest U.S. congresspersons tend to be older than the youngest MPs in Commonwealth countries. This is partly because the minimum age requirements enumerated in Article One of the United States Constitution bar persons under the age of 25 years and 30 years from serving in the House and Senate, respectively. Additionally, the political culture of the United States encourages young politicians to gain experience in state and local offices before running for Congress. Although the vast majority of members of Congress gained state and local experience before being elected to Congress, members lacking state and local experience have increased recently.
On November 6, 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Abby Finkenauer won their general election campaigns and respectively became the youngest and second-youngest congresswomen ever elected. On taking office, they became the youngest two members of the 116th United States Congress.
Josh Hawley is the youngest sitting senator of the 116th United States Congress at age. He replaced Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, who at was the youngest senator of the 115th Congress.
The average age of Senators is now higher than in the past. In the 19th century, several state legislatures elected Senators in their late twenties despite the Constitutional minimum age of 30, such as Henry Clay, who was sworn into office at age 29, and John Henry Eaton, the youngest US Senator in history, who took his oath of office when 28 years, 4 months, and 29 days old.

List of youngest U.S. senators

List of youngest members of the U.S. House of Representatives