| 115th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
114th ← → 116th | |
 United States Capitol (2017) | |
January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Members | 100 senators 435 representatives 6 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican |
| Senate President | Joe Biden (D)[a] (until January 20, 2017) Mike Pence (R) (from January 20, 2017) |
| House majority | Republican |
| House Speaker | Paul Ryan (R) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2018 2nd: January 3, 2018 – January 3, 2019 | |
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January 3, 2019, during the final weeks of Barack Obama's presidency and the first two years of Donald Trump's first presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census.[1]
The Republican Party retained their majority in both the House and the Senate, and, with the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, attained an overall federal government trifecta, a position they had last attained in 2005 with the 109th Congress.
Several political scientists described the legislative accomplishments of this Congress as modest, considering that both Congress and the presidency were under unified Republican Party control.[2][3][4][5]
This is the most recent Congress with Democratic senators from the states of Florida (Bill Nelson), Indiana (Joe Donnelly), Missouri (Claire McCaskill) and North Dakota (Heidi Heitkamp), all of whom lost re-election in 2018.
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| Affiliation | Party (shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Independent (caucusing with Democrats) |
Republican | |||
| End of previous Congress | 44 | 2 | 54 | 100 | 0 |
| Begin (January 3, 2017) | 46 | 2 | 52 | 100 | 0 |
| February 8, 2017[b] | 51 | 99 | 1 | ||
| February 9, 2017[b] | 52 | 100 | 0 | ||
| January 2, 2018[c] | 45 | 99 | 1 | ||
| January 3, 2018[b][c] | 47 | 51 | 100 | 0 | |
| April 1, 2018[d] | 50 | 99 | 1 | ||
| April 2, 2018[d] | 51 | 100 | 0 | ||
| August 25, 2018[e] | 50 | 99 | 1 | ||
| September 4, 2018[e] | 51 | 100 | 0 | ||
| December 31, 2018[e] | 50 | 99 | 1 | ||
| Final voting share | 49.5% | 50.5% | |||
| Beginning of the next Congress | 45 | 2 | 52 | 99 | 1 |
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| Party (shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Independent | Republican | ||||
| End of previous Congress | 187 | 0 | 246 | 433 | 2 | |
| Begin (January 3, 2017) | 194 | 0 | 241 | 435 | 0 | |
| January 23, 2017[f] | 240 | 434 | 1 | |||
| January 24, 2017[g] | 193 | 433 | 2 | |||
| February 10, 2017[h] | 239 | 432 | 3 | |||
| February 16, 2017[i] | 238 | 431 | 4 | |||
| March 1, 2017[j] | 237 | 430 | 5 | |||
| April 11, 2017[f][k] | 238 | 431 | 4 | |||
| May 25, 2017[j][k] | 239 | 432 | 3 | |||
| June 6, 2017[g][k] | 194 | 433 | 2 | |||
| June 20, 2017[h][i][k] | 241 | 435 | 0 | |||
| June 30, 2017[l] | 240 | 434 | 1 | |||
| October 21, 2017[m] | 239 | 433 | 2 | |||
| November 7, 2017[l][k] | 240 | 434 | 1 | |||
| December 5, 2017[n] | 193 | 433 | 2 | |||
| December 8, 2017[o] | 239 | 432 | 3 | |||
| January 15, 2018[p] | 238 | 431 | 4 | |||
| March 13, 2018[m][k] | 194 | 432 | 3 | |||
| March 16, 2018[q] | 193 | 431 | 4 | |||
| April 6, 2018[r] | 237 | 430 | 5 | |||
| April 23, 2018[s] | 236 | 429 | 6 | |||
| April 24, 2018[o][k] | 237 | 430 | 5 | |||
| April 27, 2018[t] | 236 | 429 | 6 | |||
| May 12, 2018[u] | 235 | 428 | 7 | |||
| June 30, 2018[r][k] | 236 | 429 | 6 | |||
| August 7, 2018[p][k] | 237 | 430 | 5 | |||
| September 10, 2018[v] | 236 | 429 | 6 | |||
| September 30, 2018[w] | 235 | 428 | 7 | |||
| November 6, 2018[n][q][s][t][u] | 197 | 236 | 433 | 2 | ||
| December 31, 2018[x] | 196 | 432 | 3 | |||
| Final voting share | 45.4% | 0.0% | 54.6% | |||
| Non-voting members | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| Beginning of the next Congress | 235 | 0 | 199 | 434 | 1[29] | |
Section contents: Senate: Majority (R), Minority (D) • House: Majority (R), Minority (D)
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The average age of members of the House of Representatives during the 115th Congress was 57.8 years, while the average age of U.S. senators was 61.8 years.[34]
| Religious affiliation |
|---|
 Senate affiliation  House affiliation Map of Religious Affiliations |
The most common occupation of senators prior to being elected to their posts was law, followed by public service/politics and business. In the House of Representatives, business was the dominant prior occupation, followed by public service/politics and law.[34] In the 115th Congress, 94.1% of House members and 100% of senators had attained a bachelor's degree or a higher degree; this was a historically high level of education for a United States Congress. In addition, 167 members of the House and 55 members of the Senate had law degrees. Only 18 members of Congress had no college education.[34]
Ethnic minorities in the 115th Congress consisted of 52 African American members, 45 Hispanic or Latino members, 18 Asian-American or Pacific Islander members, and two members of Native American ancestry.[34] Women comprised 20.1% of the membership in the 115th Congress, which had 109 women and 326 men. This represented an increase of 21 women from the 114th Congress.[34]
Seven openly LGBT members served in the 115th Congress. Tammy Baldwin,[35] Jared Polis,[36] Sean Patrick Maloney, Mark Takano, David Cicilline, and Mark Pocan are openly gay, while Kyrsten Sinema is openly bisexual.[37]
The majority of the 115th Congress was religiously affiliated, with 90.7% identifying as Christians. Approximately half of the Christians were Protestant. Other religious faiths of congressmembers in the 115th Congress included Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.[34]
The numbers refer to their Senate classes. All of the class 3 seats were contested in the November 2016 elections. Class 1 terms end with this Congress, requiring re-election in 2018; Class 2 began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 2020; and Class 3 began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 2022.
|
|
 2 Democrats 2 Republicans 1 Democrat and 1 Republican 1 Independent and 1 Democrat 1 Independent and 1 Republican Senate majority leadership Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell Senate Republican whip John Cornyn Senate minority leadership Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer Senate Democratic whip Richard Durbin
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All 435 seats were filled by the regular elections on November 8, 2016, or subsequent special elections thereafter.
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[aa] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama (2) |
Jeff Sessions (R) |
Resigned February 8, 2017, to become U.S. Attorney General.[39] Successor appointed February 9, 2017, to continue the term.[40] |
Luther Strange (R) |
February 9, 2017 |
| Minnesota (2) |
Al Franken (D) |
Resigned January 2, 2018, amid a sexual misconduct scandal.[41] Successor appointed January 2, 2018, to continue the term.[38] Appointee was later elected to finish the term ending January 3, 2021. |
Tina Smith (D) |
January 3, 2018 |
| Alabama (2) |
Luther Strange (R) |
Appointment expired January 3, 2018, following a special election.[42][43] Successor elected December 12, 2017, and seated January 3, 2018, to finish the term ending January 3, 2021.[44] |
Doug Jones (D) |
January 3, 2018 |
| Mississippi (2) |
Thad Cochran (R) |
Resigned April 1, 2018, for health reasons.[45] Successor appointed April 2, 2018, to continue the term.[k] Appointee was later elected to finish the term ending January 3, 2021. |
Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) |
April 9, 2018 |
| Arizona (3) |
John McCain (R) |
Died August 25, 2018.[46] Successor appointed September 4, 2018, to continue the term.[47] |
Jon Kyl (R) |
September 5, 2018 |
| Arizona (3) |
Jon Kyl (R) |
Resigned December 31, 2018.[28] Successor was seated in the next Congress. |
Vacant until the next Congress | |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[aa] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas 4 | Mike Pompeo (R) |
Resigned January 23, 2017, to become Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.[48] A special election was held April 11, 2017.[49] |
Ron Estes (R) |
April 25, 2017 |
| California 34 | Xavier Becerra (D) |
Resigned January 24, 2017, to become Attorney General of California.[50] A special election was held June 6, 2017.[51] |
Jimmy Gomez (D) |
July 11, 2017 |
| Georgia 6 | Tom Price (R) |
Resigned February 10, 2017, to become U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.[52] A special election was held June 20, 2017.[53] |
Karen Handel (R) |
June 26, 2017 |
| South Carolina 5 | Mick Mulvaney (R) |
Resigned February 16, 2017, to become Director of the Office of Management and Budget.[54] A special election was held June 20, 2017.[55] |
Ralph Norman (R) |
June 26, 2017 |
| Montana at-large | Ryan Zinke (R) |
Resigned March 1, 2017, to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior.[54] A special election was held May 25, 2017.[56] |
Greg Gianforte (R) |
June 21, 2017 |
| Utah 3 | Jason Chaffetz (R) |
Resigned June 30, 2017, for personal reasons.[57] A special election was held November 7, 2017.[58] |
John Curtis (R) |
November 13, 2017 |
| Pennsylvania 18 | Tim Murphy (R) |
Resigned October 21, 2017.[59] A special election was held March 13, 2018.[60] |
Conor Lamb (D) |
April 12, 2018 |
| Michigan 13 | John Conyers (D) |
Resigned December 5, 2017.[61] A special election was held November 6, 2018.[62] |
Brenda Jones (D)[63] |
November 29, 2018 |
| Arizona 8 | Trent Franks (R) |
Resigned December 8, 2017.[64] A special election was held April 24, 2018.[65] |
Debbie Lesko (R) |
May 7, 2018 |
| Ohio 12 | Pat Tiberi (R) |
Resigned January 15, 2018, to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable.[66][67] A special election was held August 7, 2018[68] |
Troy Balderson (R) | September 5, 2018 |
| New York 25 | Louise Slaughter (D) |
Died March 16, 2018.[69] A special election was held November 6, 2018.[70] |
Joseph Morelle (D) |
November 13, 2018 |
| Texas 27 | Blake Farenthold (R) |
Resigned April 6, 2018.[22] A special election was held June 30, 2018.[71] |
Michael Cloud (R) |
July 10, 2018 |
| Oklahoma 1 | Jim Bridenstine (R) |
Resigned April 23, 2018, to become the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration.[72] Successor was elected to the next term and, by Oklahoma law, was considered thereby "appointed" November 6, 2018, to finish the current term.[citation needed] There is debate about the legality of such an appointment, however.[citation needed] |
Kevin Hern (R) |
November 13, 2018 |
| Pennsylvania 7 | Pat Meehan (R) |
Resigned April 27, 2018.[73] A special election was held November 6, 2018.[74] |
Mary Gay Scanlon (D) |
November 13, 2018 |
| Pennsylvania 15 | Charlie Dent (R) |
Resigned May 12, 2018.[75] A special election was held November 6, 2018.[74] |
Susan Wild (D) |
November 27, 2018[76] |
| Florida 6 | Ron DeSantis (R) |
Resigned September 10, 2018, to focus on his gubernatorial campaign.[77] Seat remained vacant until determined by general election. |
Vacant until the next Congress | |
| West Virginia 3 | Evan Jenkins (R) |
Resigned September 30, 2018, to become justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.[78] Seat remained vacant until determined by general election. | ||
| New Mexico 1 | Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) |
Resigned December 31, 2018, to become Governor of New Mexico. | ||
Section contents: Senate, House, Joint
| Committee | Chair | Ranking Member[79] |
|---|---|---|
| Aging (Special) | Susan Collins (R-ME) | Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) |
| Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry | Pat Roberts (R-KS) | Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) |
| Appropriations | Richard Shelby (R-AL) | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) |
| Armed Services | John McCain (R-AZ) until August 25, 2018
Jim Inhofe (R-OK) from September 6, 2018; acting from December 2017 |
Jack Reed (D-RI) |
| Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs | Mike Crapo (R-ID) | Sherrod Brown (D-OH) |
| Budget | Mike Enzi (R-WY) | Bernie Sanders (I-VT) |
| Commerce, Science and Transportation | John Thune (R-SD) | Bill Nelson (D-FL) |
| Energy and Natural Resources | Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) | Maria Cantwell (D-WA) |
| Environment and Public Works | John Barrasso (R-WY) | Tom Carper (D-DE) |
| Ethics (Select) | Johnny Isakson (R-GA) | Chris Coons (D-DE) |
| Finance | Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | Ron Wyden (D-OR) |
| Foreign Relations | Bob Corker (R-TN) | Bob Menendez (D-NJ) |
| Health, Education, Labor and Pensions | Lamar Alexander (R-TN) | Patty Murray (D-WA) |
| Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs | Ron Johnson (R-WI) | Claire McCaskill (D-MO) |
| Indian Affairs (Permanent Select) | John Hoeven (R-ND) | Tom Udall (D-NM) |
| Intelligence (Select) | Richard Burr (R-NC) | Mark Warner (D-VA) |
| International Narcotics Control (Permanent Caucus) | Chuck Grassley (R-TX) | Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) |
| Judiciary | Chuck Grassley (R-SC) | Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) |
| Rules and Administration | Roy Blunt (R-MO) | Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) |
| Small Business and Entrepreneurship | Jim Risch (R-FL) | Jeanne Shaheen (D-MD) |
| Veterans' Affairs | Johnny Isakson (R-GA) | Jon Tester (D-MT) |
| Committee | Chairman[80] | Ranking Member |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | Mike Conaway (R-TX) | Collin Peterson (D-MN) |
| Appropriations | Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) | Nita Lowey (D-NY) |
| Armed Services | Mac Thornberry (R-TX) | Adam Smith (D-WA) |
| Budget | Diane Black (R-TN), until January 11, 2018 Acting until February 16, 2017 Steve Womack (R-AR), from January 11, 2018 |
John Yarmuth (D-KY) |
| Education and the Workforce | Virginia Foxx (R-NC) | Bobby Scott (D-VA) |
| Energy and Commerce | Greg Walden (R-OR) | Frank Pallone (D-NJ) |
| Ethics | Susan Brooks (R-IN) | Ted Deutch (D-FL) |
| Financial Services | Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) | Maxine Waters (D-CA) |
| Foreign Affairs | Ed Royce (R-CA) | Eliot Engel (D-NY) |
| Homeland Security | Michael McCaul (R-TX) | Bennie Thompson (D-MS) |
| House Administration | Gregg Harper (R-MS) | Bob Brady (D-PA) |
| Judiciary | Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) | John Conyers (D-MI), until November 26, 2017 Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), from November 26, 2017 Acting until December 20, 2017 |
| Natural Resources | Rob Bishop (R-UT) | Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) |
| Oversight and Government Reform | Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), until June 13, 2017 Trey Gowdy (R-SC), from June 13, 2017 |
Elijah Cummings (D-MD) |
| Rules | Pete Sessions (R-TX) | Louise Slaughter (D-NY), until March 16, 2018 Jim McGovern (D-MA), from March 17, 2018 Acting until April 10, 2018 |
| Science, Space and Technology | Lamar Smith (R-TX) | Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) |
| Small Business | Steve Chabot (R-OH) | Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) |
| Transportation and Infrastructure | Bill Shuster (R-PA) | Peter DeFazio (D-OR) |
| Veterans' Affairs | Phil Roe (R-TN) | Tim Walz (D-MN) |
| Ways and Means | Kevin Brady (R-TX) | Richard Neal (D-MA) |
| Human Rights (Lantos Commission) | Randy Hultgren (R-IL) | Jim McGovern (D-MA) |
| Intelligence (Permanent Select) | Devin Nunes (R-CA) | Adam Schiff (D-CA) |
| Committee | Chairman | Ranking Member |
|---|---|---|
| Economic | Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), until January 11, 2018 Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN), from January 11, 2018 |
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) |
| Library | Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) | Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) |
| Printing | Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) | Rep. Bob Brady (D-PA) |
| Taxation | Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) | Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) |
| Budget and Appropriations Process Reform (Select) | Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) (co-chair) Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) (co-chair) |
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) |
| Inaugural Ceremonies (Special) | Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) | Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) |
| Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) |
| Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans (Select) | Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) (co-chair) Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) (co-chair) |
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) |
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