Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

Updated May 20, 2020 (R45583)
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Summary

This report presents a profile of the membership of the 116th Congress (2019-2020) as of May 20, 2020. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign birth, and military service.

In the House of Representatives, there are 237 Democrats (including 4 Delegates), 200 Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), 1 Independent/Libertarian, and 3 vacant seats. The Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who both caucus with the Democrats. Additionally

The portions of this report covering political party affiliation, gender, ethnicity, and vacant seats may be updated as events warrant. The remainder of the report will not be updated.


Overview and Total Members in History

Congress is composed of 541 individuals1 from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. Since 1789, 12,349 individuals2 have served as either Representatives (11,042 individuals) or as Senators (1,984 individuals).3 Of these individuals, 677 have served in both chambers. An additional 178 individuals have served in the House in the roles of territorial Delegates or Resident Commissioners.4

The following is a profile of the 116th Congress (2019-2020).5

Party Breakdown

In the 116th Congress, the current party alignments as of May 20, 2020, are as follows:

Age

The average age at the beginning of the 116th Congress was 57.6 years for Representatives and 62.9 years for Senators.6

Table 1 shows the average ages at the beginning of the 116th and three previous Congresses.

Table 1. Average Age of Members, 113th-116th Congresses

Average (mean) age at the beginning of the Congress

Congress

Representatives

Newly Elected Representatives

Senators

Newly Elected Senators

116th

115th

57.6 years

57.8 years

47.9 years

50.8 years

62.9 years

61.8 years

58.1 years

54.8 years

114th

57.0 years

52.3 years

61.0 years

50.7 years

113th

57.0 years

49.2 years

62.0 years

53.0 years

Source: CRS calculations based on CQ, "116th Congress: Birthdays," https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/birthdays.

Notes: Representatives' age data do not include the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner. Newly elected Members' data do not include those returning to the House or Senate for a second time.

The U.S. Constitution requires Representatives to be at least 25 years old when they take office.7 The youngest Representative in the 116th Congress, and the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress, is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), born October 13, 1989, who was 29 at the beginning of the 116th Congress. The oldest Representative is Don Young (R-AK), born June 9, 1933, who was 85.

Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office. The youngest Senator in the 116th Congress is Josh Hawley (R-MO), born December 31, 1979, who was 39 at the beginning of the Congress. The oldest Senator in the 116th Congress is Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), born June 22, 1933, who was 85.

Occupations

According to data on occupations in the CQ New Members Guide, in the 116th Congress law ties with public service/politics as the most commonly declared profession of Senators, followed by business; for Representatives, public service/politics is first, closely followed by business, then law.8

Table 2 uses data from the CQ Member Profiles to present the occupational categories most frequently listed as prior careers of Members of the 116th Congress.

Table 2. Most Frequently Listed Occupational Categories
by Members, 116th Congress

At the beginning of the 116th Congress

Occupation

Representatives

Senators

Public Service/Politics

184

47

Business

183

29

Law

145

47

Education

73

20

Sources: CQ New Members Guide and the CQ Member Profiles.

Note: Most Members list more than one profession when surveyed by CQ Roll Call, and the professions listed are not necessarily the ones Members practiced immediately prior to entering Congress.

A closer look at the range of prior occupations and previously held public offices of Members of the House and Senate at the beginning of the 116th Congress, as listed in their CQ Member Profiles,9 also shows the following:

Other occupations listed in the CQ Member Profiles include emergency dispatcher, letter carrier, animal nutrition specialist, cake decorator, waiter, electrician, rodeo announcer, carpenter, computer systems analyst, software engineer, R&D lab executive, and explosives expert.

Education

As has been true in recent Congresses, the vast majority of Members (94.8% of House Members and 100% of Senators) at the beginning of the 116th Congress hold bachelor's degrees. Sixty-eight percent of House Members and 77% of Senators hold educational degrees beyond a bachelor's.14 The CQ Member Profiles at the beginning of the 116th Congress indicate the following:

By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), 85% of House Members and 88% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. Approximately 45 years ago, in the 94th Congress (1975-1976), 82% of House Members and 88% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. About 60 years ago, in the 87th Congress (1961-1962), 76% of House Members and 76% of Senators held bachelor's degrees.16

Five Representatives and one Senator are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, three Representatives and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Five Representatives and one Senator were Rhodes Scholars, two Representatives were Fulbright Scholars, two Representatives were Marshall Scholars, and two Representatives and one Senator were Truman Scholars.17

Congressional Service

The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 116th Congress was 8.6 years (4.3 House terms); for Senators, 10.1 years (1.7 Senate terms).

Table 3. Average Length of Service for Members of Congress, 112th-116th Congresses

Average (mean) at the beginning of the Congress, in years and numbers of terms

Congress

Representatives

Senators

116th

115th

8.6 years (4.3 terms)

9.4 years (4.6 terms)

10.1 years (1.7 terms)

10.1 years (1.7 terms)

114th

8.8 years (4.4 terms)

9.7 years (1.6 terms)

113th

9.1 years (4.6 terms)

10.2 years (1.7 terms)

112th

9.8 years (4.9 terms)

11.4 years (1.9 terms)

Source: CRS Report R41545, Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2019, by William T. Egar and Amber Hope Wilhelm.

Notes: Representatives are elected for two-year terms. Senators are elected for six-year terms. Note that 50 Senators in the 116th Congress have previously served in the House. Their House service is not included in this average, nor is the House service of Senators included in previous Congresses.

At the beginning of the 116th Congress, 90 of the House Members, including the Resident Commissioner for Puerto Rico (20.4% of the total House Membership), had first been elected to the House in November 2018, and 9 of the Senators (9% of the total Senate membership) had first been elected to the Senate in November 2018.18 These numbers are higher than at the beginning of the 115th Congress, when 11.8% of the House and 7% of the Senate were newly elected "freshmen."

At the beginning of the 116th Congress, 144 House Members, including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner (32.7% of House Members), had no more than two years of House experience, and 19 Senators (19% of Senators) had no more than two years of Senate experience.

For more historical information on the tenure of Members of Congress, see CRS Report R41545, Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2019, by William T. Egar and Amber Hope Wilhelm.

Religion

Ninety-seven percent of the Members of the 116th Congress report an affiliation with a specific religion.19

Statistics gathered by the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life, which studies the religious affiliation of Representatives and Senators, and CQ at the beginning of the 116th Congress showed the following:

Gender and Ethnicity

Women Members

A record 131 women Members (24.2% of the total membership) serve in the 116th Congress, 22 more than at the beginning of the 115th Congress.21 One hundred five women, including 3 Delegates as well as the Resident Commissioner, serve in the House and 26 in the Senate. Of the 105 women in the House, 90 are Democrats, including 2 of the Delegates, and 15 are Republicans, including 1 Delegate as well as the Resident Commissioner. Of the 26 women in the Senate, 17 are Democrats and 9 are Republicans.22

By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), 23 women served in the House, and 2 in the Senate. Approximately 45 years ago, in the 94th Congress (1975-1976), there were 19 women in the House, and none in the Senate.

African American Members

There are a record 57 African American Members (10.5% of the total membership) in the 116th Congress, 5 more than at the beginning of the 115th Congress.23 Fifty-four serve in the House, including two Delegates, and three serve in the Senate. This number includes one Representative, as well as one Senator, who are of African American and Asian ancestry, and one Representative who is of African American and Hispanic ancestry. In this report, each of these three Members is counted as belonging to two ethnic groups. Fifty-three of the African American House Members, including two Delegates, are Democrats, and one is a Republican. Two of the Senators are Democrats and one is Republican. Twenty-four African American women, including two Delegates, serve in the House, and one serves in the Senate.24

By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), 21 African American Members served in the House, and none in the Senate. About 60 years ago, in the 87th Congress (1961-1962), there were 4 African American Members of Congress, all serving in the House.

Hispanic/Latino American Members

There are 51 Hispanic or Latino Members in the 116th Congress, 9.4% of the total membership and a record number.25 Forty-six serve in the House, including two delegates and the Resident Commissioner, and 5 in the Senate. These numbers include two House Members who are also of Asian descent, and one House Member also of African ancestry; these Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of the Members of the House, 37 are Democrats (including 2 Delegates) and 9 are Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner). Fourteen are women, including the Resident Commissioner. Of the five Hispanic Senators (three Republicans, two Democrats), one is a woman. By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), 14 Hispanic or Latino Members served in Congress. All 14 were male Members of the House.

Asian/Pacific Islander American Members

A record 20 Members of the 116th Congress (3.8% of the total membership) are of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry.26 Seventeen of them (16 Democrats, 1 Republican) serve in the House, and 3 (all Democrats) serve in the Senate. These numbers include one House Member and one Senator who are also of African American ancestry, and another House Member of Hispanic ancestry; these Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of those serving in the House, three are Delegates. Ten of the Asian, Pacific Islander, or South Asian American Members are female: seven in the House, and all three in the Senate. By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), there were five Asian/Pacific Islander Americans in the House, and two in the Senate.

American Indian Members

There are four American Indian (Native American) Members of the 116th Congress; two of each party, all in the House.27 This is two more than in the 115th Congress, and a record number.

Foreign Birth

Twenty-three Representatives28 and five Senators (5.2% of the 116th Congress) were born outside the United States. Their places of birth include Canada, Cuba, Ecuador, Germany, Japan, Peru, and India. Some of these Members were born to American citizens working or serving abroad.29 The U.S. Constitution requires that Representatives be citizens for seven years and Senators be citizens for nine years before they take office.30

Military Service

At the beginning of the 116th Congress, there were 96 individuals (17.8% of the total membership) who had served or were serving in the military, 6 fewer than at the beginning of the 115th Congress (102 Members). According to lists compiled by CQ, the House as of January 2019 had 78 veterans (including 4 female Members, as well as 1 Delegate); the Senate had 18 veterans, including 3 women.31 These Members served in the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and combat or peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, as well as during times of peace. Seven House Members and one Senator are still serving in the reserves, and seven House Members are still serving in the National Guard. Four of the seven female veterans are combat veterans.

The number of veterans in the 116th Congress reflects the trend of steady decline in recent decades in the number of Members who have served in the military. For example, 64% of the Members of the 97th Congress (1981-1982) were veterans, and in the 92nd Congress (1971-1972), 73% of the Members were veterans.32

For summary information on the demographics of Members in selected past Congresses, including age trends, occupational backgrounds, military veteran status, and educational attainment, see CRS Report R42365, Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen.33

Author Contact Information

Jennifer E. Manning, Senior Research Librarian ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Acknowledgments

William T. Egar, and the staff of the Office of the Historian of the United States House of Representatives provided assistance.

Footnotes

1.

This 541 number is the maximum number of individuals who may currently serve in the House and Senate and assumes that no seat is temporarily vacant. As of May 20, 2020, there were three House vacancies. The 116th Congress began with one vacant House seat. The 541 number includes the 535 Members from the 50 states (100 Senators, 435 Representatives), 5 Members who are Delegates (from the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands), and 1 Member who is Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico. References in this report to "Representative(s)" include the 435 Members of the House from the 50 states and exclude the Members who are Delegates and the Resident Commissioner.

For more information on the status of the Delegates and Resident Commissioner, refer to CRS Report R40170, Parliamentary Rights of the Delegates and Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, by Christopher M. Davis.

2.

U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, "Total Members of the House and State Representation," at http://history.house.gov/Institution/Total-Members/Total-Members/, updated January 3, 2019, and CRS calculations.

Information about all the Members who have served in Congress is available in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, a website maintained by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate, at http://bioguide.congress.gov.

3.

A cumulative chronological list of all U.S. Senators is available on the Senate website at http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/senators_chronological.htm. Information about all House Members is available on the House website at http://history.house.gov/Institution/Total-Members/Total-Members/.

4.

The Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico serves a four-year term, unlike other House members who serve two-year terms. The Philippines was represented in the House by Resident Commissioners from 1907 until 1946, when it became an independent nation. For more information, see CRS Report R40555, Delegates to the U.S. Congress: History and Current Status, by Christopher M. Davis.

5.

For background information on the previous Congress, refer to CRS Report R44762, Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile, by Jennifer E. Manning.

6.

For more information about age distributions in the House in the 116th Congress, see an online feature of the Washington Post, "Democrats' generational gap grows with return of Speaker Pelosi and longtime deputies," at https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/politics/young-democrats-pelosi-opposition/.

7.

Article I, Section 2, clause 2, of the U.S. Constitution.

8.

"Demographics: Congress by the numbers," in CQ New Members Guide, November 12, 2018, p. 98, available in the CQ.com subscription database at https://plus.cq.com/flatfiles/editorialFiles/temporaryItems/2018/nmg-demographics.pdf. CQ.com is available in all House and Senate offices. This data does not include the Delegates and Resident Commissioner.

For more information on the prior occupations of House Members of the 116th Congress, see an online feature of the New York Times, "Paths to Power: How Every Member Got to Congress," January 26, 2019, at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/26/opinion/sunday/paths-to-congress.html.

Please note that the data in these third party resources are unlikely to be updated after publication.

9.

CQ Member Profiles are available on the CQ.com subscription database at http://www.cq.com/members/home.do. The CQ.com database is available in all House and Senate offices, as well as some academic libraries. The profiles are also available in print form in the CQ publication Politics in America. The professions listed here are not exhaustive and are not necessarily the ones practiced by Members immediately prior to entering Congress. Most Members list more than one profession in their CQ Member Profiles.

10.

One of the medical doctors in the Senate is an ophthalmologist, and one of the medical doctors in the House is also a veterinarian. In addition to these numbers, another physician was sworn into the House in September 2019. For more information on medical professionals serving in the House, see the Library of the House of Representatives's "Membership Profile" web page at http://library.clerk.house.gov/membership-profile.aspx. For Senators, see the Senate Historical Office's "Physicians in the Senate" web page at https://www.senate.gov/senators/PhysiciansintheSenate.htm.

11.

In addition, one Senator previously served as the U.S. Trade Representative, a position carrying the rank and title of Ambassador.

12.

National Conference of State Legislators, "Former State Legislators in the 116th Congress" (as of January 11, 2019), at http://www.ncsl.org/documents/statefed/Former_StateLegislators116thCongress.pdf.

13.

Michael L. Koempel and Judy Schneider, Congressional Deskbook, 6th ed. (Washington: The Capitol.Net, 2012), Figure 5.22, supplemented by data from CQ Member Profiles and House and Senate payroll documents.

14.

CQ, "116th Congress: Education," at https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/education.

15.

Three Senators and 13 Representatives have M.D. degrees, 1 Senator has an O.D. (doctor of optometry) degree, 5 Representatives have D.D.S. (doctor of dental surgery) degrees, and 3 Representatives have D.V.M. (doctor of veterinary medicine) degrees. One of the Representatives has both an M.D. and a D.V.M. degree. An additional Representative with an M.D. degree was sworn into the House in September 2019.

16.

CRS Report R42365, Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen.

17.

Rhodes and Marshall scholarships fund study at British universities; Fulbright scholarships fund international exchange programs; Truman scholarships fund graduate study toward public service.

18.

This number includes one Senator appointed in December 2018 and sworn in at the beginning of the 116th Congress.

For more information on the "freshmen" of the 116th Congress, see Brookings Institution, "Congress in 2019: the 2nd most educated and least politically experienced House freshman class," December 28, 2018, at https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/12/28/congress-in-2019-the-2nd-most-educated-and-least-politically-experienced-house-freshman-class/.

19.

Nineteen Members of the 115th Congress do not specify a religious affiliation, or report themselves as unaffiliated. Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life Project, "Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 116th Congress," January 3, 2019, at http://www.pewforum.org/2019/01/03/faith-on-the-hill-116/.

20.

Detailed religious affiliation information for Members of the 116th Congress, and comparisons to the U.S. general population are available at http://www.pewforum.org/2019/01/03/faith-on-the-hill-116/.

21.

The 116th Congress began with 131 women Members; one woman House Member resigned in November 2019, and one woman Senator was appointed in December 2019.

22.

For more information, see CRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-2020: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress, by Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick; and the Office of the House Historian's Women in Congress website at http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-Congress/.

23.

The 116th Congress began with 57 African American Members; one African American House Member passed away in October 2019, and one was sworn into the House in May 2020.

24.

For more information, see CRS Report RL30378, African American Members of the U.S. Congress: 1870-2019, by Ida A. Brudnick and Jennifer E. Manning; and the Office of the House Historian's Black Americans in Congress website at https://history.house.gov/baic/. Due to differences in data collection or characterization, demographic data in other studies on Members of Congress may differ from those presented in this report.

25.

This number includes three House Members and one Senator who are of Portuguese ancestry and belong, or have belonged, to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus or the Congressional Hispanic Conference. For more information, see the Office of the House Historian's Hispanic Americans in Congress website at http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Hispanic-Americans-in-Congress/. Due to differences in data collection or characterization, demographic data in other studies on Members of Congress may differ from those presented in this report.

26.

For more information, see the Office of the House Historian's Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress website at http://history.house.gov/apa/. Due to differences in data collection or characterization, demographic data in other studies on Members of Congress may differ from those presented in this report.

27.

This number includes only Members who are enrolled members of federally recognized tribes. For more information, see CRS congressional distribution memorandum, Members of Congress of American Indian Descent, by Jennifer Manning, available to congressional offices upon request.

28.

Another House Member born outside the United States resigned in March 2020 and is not counted here.

29.

For more information, see Pew Research Center, "In 116th Congress, at least 13% of lawmakers are immigrants or the children of immigrants," January 24, 2019, at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/24/in-116th-congress-at-least-13-of-lawmakers-are-immigrants-or-the-children-of-immigrants/; Office of the Senate Historian's Senators Born Outside the United States list at https://www.senate.gov/senators/Foreign_born.htm; and the Library of the House of Representatives' Foreign Born list at https://library-clerk.house.gov/documents/Foreign_Born.pdf.

30.

Article I, Section 2, clause 2, and Article I, Section 3, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution.

31.

CQ, "116th Congress: House Military Veterans," at https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/house-veterans, and "116th Congress: Senate Military Veterans," at https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/senate-veterans. Both lists are frequently updated to reflect changes since the 116th Congress convened.

32.

For more information and a list of current veteran Members, see the Military Times, "Veterans in the 116th Congress, by the numbers," November 21, 2018, at https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/11/21/veterans-in-the-116th-congress-by-the-numbers/.

33.

Because of differences in data sources used, some demographic information may differ between CRS Report R42365, Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen, this report, and other demographic studies of Congress.

In addition to the CQ Member Profiles, other sources of demographic information for the 116th Congress include Vital Statistics on Congress at https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/vital-statistics-on-congress/, a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution, and the Library of the House of Representatives' "Membership Profile" web page at http://library.clerk.house.gov/membership-profile.aspx, which features lists of House Members such as "116th Congress—Lawyers" and "115th Congress—Former Mayors." The Secretary of the Senate also maintains a collection of lists about Senators at https://www.senate.gov/reference/Senators.htm.

For summary information, see Pew Research Center Think Tank's "For the fifth time in a row, the new Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse ever," at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/08/for-the-fifth-time-in-a-row-the-new-congress-is-the-most-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-ever/, and "The Changing Fact of Congress in Five Charts," at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/15/the-changing-face-of-congress/.