The 116th United States Congress was a 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 ended on January 3, 2021, during the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency. 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

• December 22, 2018 – January 25, 2019: 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown
• February 5, 2019: 2019 State of the Union Address was delayed from January 29 due to the partial government shutdown.
• February 15, 2019: President Trump declared a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States.
• February 27, 2019: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
• March 24, 2019: Mueller special counsel investigation: U.S. Attorney General William Barr issued a summary letter of special counsel Robert Mueller's report to congress on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
• July 24, 2019: Mueller special counsel investigation: Special counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees.
• September 24, 2019: First impeachment of Donald Trump: House opened an Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump after a whistleblower alleged the President abused his power in a phone call with the President of Ukraine.
• December 13, 2019: First impeachment of Donald Trump: House Judiciary Committee approved two impeachment articles.
• December 18, 2019: First impeachment of Donald Trump: House impeached President Trump.
• January 16, 2020 – February 5, 2020: First impeachment of Donald Trump: Impeachment trial of Donald Trump
• February 4, 2020: 2020 State of the Union Address
• March 11, 2020 – present: COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
• May 26, 2020 – May 26, 2021: Nationwide George Floyd protests
• August 18, 2020 – April 6, 2022: 2020 United States Postal Service crisis
• September 30, 2020 – January 20, 2021: White House COVID-19 outbreak
• October 26, 2020: The Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court.
• November 3, 2020: 2020 United States elections were held. Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris was elected the 49th Vice President of the United States, the first woman to do so. Democrats retained control of the United States House of Representatives, while Republicans briefly retained control of the Senate until January 20, 2021, because Democrats won both regular and special Senate elections in Georgia on January 5, 2021.

Major legislation

Enacted

• January 16, 2019: Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, Pub.L. 116-1
• February 15, 2019: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–6 (text) (PDF), H.J.Res. 31
• March 12, 2019: John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–9 (text) (PDF), S. 47
• June 24, 2019: Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act, Pub.L. 116-22
• July 1, 2019: Taxpayer First Act of 2019, H.R. 3151
• July 29, 2019: Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–34 (text) (PDF), H.R. 1327
• November 27, 2019: Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–76 (text) (PDF), S. 1838
• December 20, 2019: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–92 (text) (PDF), S. 1790
• December 20, 2019: Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–94 (text) (PDF), S. 1865
• January 29, 2020: United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–113 (text) (PDF), H.R. 5430
• Coronavirus relief acts:
  • March 6, 2020: Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–123 (text) (PDF), H.R. 6074
  • March 18, 2020: Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–127 (text) (PDF), H.R. 6201
  • March 27, 2020: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–136 (text) (PDF), H.R. 748
  • April 24, 2020: Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–139 (text) (PDF), H.R. 266
  • December 27, 2020: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133
• March 26, 2020: Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–135 (text) (PDF), S. 1678
• June 17, 2020: Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–145 (text) (PDF), S. 3744
• July 14, 2020: Hong Kong Autonomy Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–149 (text) (PDF), H.R. 7440
• August 4, 2020: Great American Outdoors Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–152 (text) (PDF), S. 1957
• October 10, 2020: Savanna's Act, Pub.L. 116-165
• January 1, 2021: William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–217 (text) (PDF), H.R. 6395 (passed over veto)
• January 13, 2021: Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act, Pub.L. 116-338

Proposed (but not enacted)

• House Bills
  • H.R. 1: For the People Act of 2019
  • H.R. 2 Moving Forward Act
  • H.R. 3: Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019
  • H.R. 4: John Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2019
  • H.R. 5: Equality Act of 2019
  • H.R. 6: American Dream and Promise Act of 2019
  • H.R. 7: Paycheck Fairness Act of 2019
  • H.R. 8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019
  • H.R. 51: DC Admission Act of 2019
  • H.R. 1595: SAFE Banking Act of 2019
  • H.R. 3884: Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019
  • H.R. 6800: HEROES Act of 2019
  • H.R. 7085: Ending Qualified Immunity Act of 2019
  • H.R. 7120: George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020
• Senate Bills
• House Joint Resolutions
  • H.J.Res. 77: "Opposing the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria"
  • H.J.Res. 79: "Removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment"
• Passed, but vetoed
  • March 15, 2019: H.J.Res. 46: Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019. (Vetoed)
  • April 16, 2019: S.J.Res. 7: A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress. (Vetoed)

Major resolutions

Adopted

• October 31, 2019: Formally commencing an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, H.Res. 660
• December 18, 2019: "Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors", H.Res. 755

Proposed

• H.Res. 109: "Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal"
• H.Res. 206: "Withdraw the United States as host from the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup"

Party summary

Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section below.

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

Presiding

• President of the Senate: Mike Pence (R)
• President pro tempore: Chuck Grassley (R)

Majority (Republican) leadership

• Senate Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell
• Senate Majority Whip: John Thune
• Chair of the Senate Republican Conference: John Barrasso
• Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee: Roy Blunt
• Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference: Joni Ernst
• Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee: Todd Young
• Chair of the Senate Republican Steering Committee: Mike Lee
• Senate Republican Chief Deputy Whip: Mike Crapo
• Senate Republican Deputy Whips: Roy Blunt, Shelley Moore Capito, John Cornyn, Cory Gardner, James Lankford, Martha McSally, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Tim Scott, Thom Tillis, and Todd Young

Minority (Democratic) leadership

• Senate Minority Leader and Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus: Chuck Schumer
• Senate Minority Whip: Dick Durbin
• Senate Assistant Democratic Leader: Patty Murray
• Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: Debbie Stabenow
• Vice Chairs of the Senate Democratic Caucus: Mark Warner and Elizabeth Warren
• Chair of the Senate Democratic Steering Committee: Amy Klobuchar
• Chair of Senate Democratic Outreach: Bernie Sanders
• Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: Joe Manchin
• Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus: Tammy Baldwin
• Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: Catherine Cortez Masto
• Senate Democratic Chief Deputy Whips: Cory Booker, Jeff Merkley, and Brian Schatz

House of Representatives

Presiding

• Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi (D)

Majority (Democratic) leadership

• House Majority Leader: Steny Hoyer
• House Majority Whip: Jim Clyburn
• Assistant Speaker of the House: Ben Ray Luján
• Chair of the House Democratic Caucus: Hakeem Jeffries
• Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus: Katherine Clark
• Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: Cheri Bustos
• Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: David Cicilline
• Co-Chairs of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: Matt Cartwright, Debbie Dingell, and Ted Lieu
• House Democratic Junior Caucus Leadership Representative: Jamie Raskin
• House Democratic Freshman Class Leadership Representatives: Katie Hill (until November 3, 2019), Veronica Escobar (from November 13, 2019), and Joe Neguse
• Co-Chairs of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee: Rosa DeLauro, Barbara Lee, and Eric Swalwell
• House Democratic Assistant to the Majority Whip: Cedric Richmond
• House Democratic Senior Chief Deputy Whips: John Lewis (until July 17, 2020) and Jan Schakowsky
• House Democratic Chief Deputy Whips: Pete Aguilar, G. K. Butterfield, Henry Cuellar, Dan Kildee, Sheila Jackson Lee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Terri Sewell, and Peter Welch

Minority (Republican) leadership

• House Minority Leader and Chair of the House Republican Steering Committee: Kevin McCarthy
• House Minority Whip: Steve Scalise
• Chair of the House Republican Conference: Liz Cheney
• Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference: Mark Walker
• Secretary of the House Republican Conference: Jason Smith
• Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee: Gary Palmer
• Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee: Tom Emmer
• House Republican Chief Deputy Whip: Drew Ferguson

Demographics

Most members of this Congress were Christian (88.2%), 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 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 1 man and 1 woman; and 30 states were represented by 2 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 (Black/Asian) 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 congress members. Eight were LGBTQ+. Two Democrats — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donna Shalala — were the youngest (30) and oldest (78) freshmen women in history. Freshmen Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN) were the first two Muslim women and freshmen Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Deb Haaland (D-NM) 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 (out of 26 women to ever chair House committees in the history of Congress), including House members Maxine Waters (Financial Services), Nita Lowey (Appropriations), Zoe Lofgren (Administration), Eddie Bernice Johnson (Science, Space and Technology) and Nydia Velázquez (Small Business), 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 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.

House of Representatives

Caucuses

Changes in membership

Senate

House of Representatives

Committees

Section contents: Senate, House, Joint

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint

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

• Chaplain: Barry C. Black (Seventh-day Adventist)
• Historian: Betty Koed
• Parliamentarian: Elizabeth MacDonough
• Secretary: Julie E. Adams
• Sergeant at Arms: Michael C. Stenger
• Secretary for the Majority:
  • until February 2020: Laura Dove
  • starting February 2020: Robert Duncan
• Secretary for the Minority: Gary B. Myrick

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Patrick J. Conroy (Roman Catholic)
• Chief Administrative Officer: Phil Kiko
• Clerk:
  • until February 26, 2019: Karen L. Haas
  • starting February 26, 2019: Cheryl L. Johnson
• Historian: Matthew Wasniewski
• Inspector General: Michael Ptasienski
• Parliamentarian:
  • until September 30, 2020: Thomas J. Wickham Jr.
  • starting September 30, 2020: Jason A. Smith
• Reading Clerks: Susan Cole and Joseph Novotny
• Sergeant at Arms: Paul D. Irving

Legislative branch agency directors

• Architect of the Capitol:
  • until August 17, 2019: Christine A. Merdon (acting)
  • August 17, 2019 – January 16, 2020: Thomas J. Carroll III (acting)
  • starting January 16, 2020: Brett Blanton
• Attending Physician of the United States Congress: Brian P. Monahan
• Comptroller General of the United States: Gene Dodaro
• Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
  • until May 31, 2019: Keith Hall
  • starting June 3, 2019: Phillip Swagel
• Librarian of Congress: Carla Diane Hayden
• Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office: Vacant
• Counselor of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel: Ralph V. Seep
• Counselor of the Office of House Legislative Counsel: Ernest Wade Ballou Jr.
• Public Printer of the United States: Hugh N. Halpern

See also

Elections

• 2018 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 2018 United States Senate elections
  • 2018 United States House of Representatives elections
• 2019 United States elections (elections during this Congress)
  • 2019 United States House of Representatives elections
• 2020 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 2020 United States presidential election
  • 2020 United States Senate elections
  • 2020 United States House of Representatives elections

Membership lists

• List of new members of the 116th United States Congress

Notes

References

External links

• Official website, via Congress.gov
• Videos of House of Representatives Sessions for the 116th Congress from C-SPAN
• Videos of Senate Sessions for the 116th Congress from C-SPAN
• Videos of Committees from the House and Senate for the 116th Congress C-SPAN
• Congressional Pictorial Directory for the 116th Congress
• Official Congressional Directory for the 116th Congress