Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

March 7, 2019 – December 17, 2020 R45583

Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile
December 17, 2020
This report presents a profile of the membership of the 116th Congress (2019-2020) as of
December 17, 2020. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members,
Jennifer E. Manning
including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional
Senior Research Librarian
service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign birth, and military service.

In the House of Representatives, there are 237 Democrats (including 4 Delegates), 197

Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), 2
Independent/Libertarians, and 5 vacant seats. The Senate has 52 Republicans, 46 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who both
caucus with the Democrats. Additionally
 The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 116th Congress was 57.6 years; of
Senators, 62.9 years.
 The overwhelming majority, 96%, of Members of Congress have a college education.
 The dominant professions of Members are public service/politics, business, and law.
 Most Members identify as Christians, and the collective majority of these affiliate with a Protestant
denomination. Roman Catholics account for the largest single religious denomination, and numerous other
affiliations are represented, including Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Greek Orthodox,
Pentecostal Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and Adventist.
 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).
 One hundred thirty women serve in the 116th Congress: 105 in the House, including 3 Delegates and the
Resident Commissioner, and 25 in the Senate.
 There are 54 African American Members of the House and 3 in the Senate. This House number includes
two Delegates.
 There are 51 Hispanic or Latino Members (a record number) serving: 46 in the House, including 2
Delegates and the Resident Commissioner, and 5 in the Senate.
 There are 20 Members (14 Representatives, 3 Delegates, and 3 Senators) who are Asian Americans, Indian
Americans, or Pacific Islander Americans. This is also a record number.
 A record four American Indians (Native Americans) serve in the House.
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.
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Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

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, 12,352 individuals2 have served as either Representatives (11,044 individuals) or as
Senators (1,985 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 December 17, 2020, are as follows:
 House of Representatives: 237 Democrats (including 4 Delegates), 197
Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto
Rico), 2 Independent/Libertarians, and 5 vacant seats.
 Senate: 52 Republicans, 46 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who both caucus
with the Democrats.
Age
The average age at the beginning of the 116th Congress was 57.6 years for Representatives and
62.9 years for Senators.6

1 T his 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 December 17, 2020, there were five House vacancies. T he 116th
Congress began with one vacant House seat. T he 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,
Parliam entary Rights of the Delegates and Resident Com m issioner from Puerto Rico , by Christopher M. Davis.
2 U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, “T otal 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/T otal-Members/.
4 T he Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico serves a four-year term, unlike other House members who serve two-
year terms. T he 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 116 th Congress, see an online feature of the
Washington Post, “ Democrats’ generational gap grows with return of Speaker Pelosi and longtime deputies,” at
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link to page 5 link to page 6 Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

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
Newly Elected
Newly Elected
Congress
Representatives
Representatives
Senators
Senators
116th
57.6 years
47.9 years
62.9 years
58.1 years
115th
57.8 years
50.8 years
61.8 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.

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. T his data does not include the Delegates and
Resident Commissioner.
For more information on the prior occupations of House Members of the 116 th Congress, see an online feature of the
New York Tim es, “ 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.
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Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

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 Rol Cal , 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:
 50 Senators with previous House service;
 95 Members have worked in education, including teachers, professors,
instructors, school fundraisers, counselors, administrators, or coaches (75 in the
House, including 2 delegates, 20 in the Senate);
 3 physicians in the Senate, 13 physicians in the House, plus 5 dentists and 3
veterinarians;10
 2 psychologists (al in the House), an optometrist (in the Senate), a pharmacist (in
the House), and 2 nurses and 1 physician assistant (in the House);
 7 ordained ministers, al in the House;
 41 former mayors (34 in the House, 7 in the Senate);
 13 former state governors (12 in the Senate, 1 in the House) and 7 lieutenant
governors (4 in the Senate, 3 in the House);
 16 former judges (al but 1 in the House) and 42 prosecutors (10 in the Senate, 32
in the House) who have served in city, county, state, federal, or military
capacities;
 2 former Cabinet Secretaries (1 in each chamber), and 3 Ambassadors (al in the
House);11

9 CQ Member Profiles are available on the CQ.com subscription database at http://www.cq.com/members/home.do.
T he CQ.com database is available in all House and Senate offices, as well as some academic libraries. T he profiles are
also available in print form in the CQ publication Politics in Am erica. T he 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 Mem ber 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. T rade Representative, a position carrying the rank and title of
Ambassador.
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Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

 246 former state or territorial legislators (43 in the Senate, 203 in the House,
including 2 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico);12
 at least 89 former congressional staffers (19 in the Senate, 70 in the House,
including 3 Delegates), as wel as 6 congressional pages (3 in the House and 3 in
the Senate);13
 3 sheriffs, 1 police chief and 3 other police officers, 1 firefighter, 3 CIA
employees, and 1 FBI agent (al in the House);
 3 Peace Corps volunteers, al in the House;
 1 physicist and 1 chemist, both in the House;
 11 engineers (10 in the House and 1 in the Senate);
 20 public relations or communications professionals (4 in the Senate, 16 in the
House), and 10 accountants (2 in the Senate and 8 in the House);
 6 software company executives in the House and 2 in the Senate;
 19 management consultants (5 in the Senate, 14 in the House), 5 car dealership
owners (al in the House), and 4 venture capitalists (2 in the House, 2 in the
Senate);
 12 bankers or bank executives (3 in the Senate, 9 in the House), 29 veterans of
the real estate industry (4 in the Senate, 25 in the House), and 10 Members who
have worked in the construction industry (1 in the Senate, 9 in the House);
 6 social workers (2 in the Senate, 4 in the House) and 3 union representatives (al
in the House);
 13 nonprofit executives in the House;
 3 radio talk show hosts (1 in the Senate, 2 in the House); 4 radio or television
broadcasters, managers, or owners (al in the House); 6 reporters or journalists (1
in the Senate, 5 in the House), a public television producer in the House, and a
newspaper publisher in each chamber;
 21 insurance agents or executives (4 in the Senate, 17 in the House) and 4
Members who have worked with stocks or bonds (al in the House);
 1 artist, 1 book publisher, and 2 speechwriters (al in the House), and 1
documentary filmmaker in the Senate;
 6 restaurateurs (5 in the House, 1 in the Senate), as wel as 2 coffee shop owners,
1 wine store owner, and 1 whiskey distil er (al in the House);
 27 farmers, ranchers, or cattle farm owners (5 in the Senate, 22 in the House);
 1 almond orchard owner and vintner, as wel as a forester and a fruit orchard
worker (al in the House);
 1 flight attendant and 1 pilot, both in the House;
 3 professional footbal players, 1 hockey player, 1 basebal player, and 1 mixed
martial arts fighter (al in the House); and

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: T he Capitol.Net, 2012),
Figure 5.22, supplemented by data from CQ Member Profiles and House and Senate payroll documents.
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Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

 8 current members of the military reserves (7 in the House, 1 in the Senate) and 7
current members of the National Guard (al in the House).
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:
 17 Members of the House have no educational degree beyond a high school
diploma;
 6 Members of the House have associate’s degrees as their highest degrees;
 99 Members of the House and 18 Senators earned a master’s degree as their
highest attained degrees;
 161 Members of the House (36.6% of the House) and 53 Senators (53% of the
Senate) hold law degrees;
 21 Representatives and 4 Senators have doctoral (Ph.D., D.Phil., Ed.D., or
D. Min) degrees; and
 21 Members of the House and 4 Senators have medical degrees.15
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
Representatives17 and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, one Senator
graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Merchant
Marine Academy.18 Five Representatives and one Senator were Rhodes Scholars, two
Representatives were Fulbright Scholars, two Representatives were Marshal Scholars, and two
Representatives and one Senator were Truman Scholars.19

14 CQ, “116th Congress: Education,” at https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/education.
15 T hree 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 One of these Naval Academy graduates was sworn into the House in May 2020.
18 T he Merchant Marine Academy graduate was sworn into the Senate in December 2020.
19 Rhodes and Marshall scholarships fund study at British universities; Fulbright scholarships fund international
exchange programs; T ruman scholarships fund graduate study toward public service.
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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
8.6 years (4.3 terms)
10.1 years (1.7 terms)
115th
9.4 years (4.6 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
Wil iam 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 2018.20 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 Wil iam
T. Egar and Amber Hope Wilhelm.
Religion
Ninety-seven percent of the Members of the 116th Congress report an affiliation with a specific
religion.21

20 T his number includes one Senator appointed in December 2018 and sworn in at the beginning of the 116 th Congress.
For more information on the “ freshmen” of the 116th Congress, see Brookings Institution, “ Congress in 2019: the 2 nd
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/.
21 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: T he Religious Composition of the 116 th
Congress,” January 3, 2019, at http://www.pewforum.org/2019/01/03/faith-on-the-hill-116/.
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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:
 54.9% of Members (233 in the House, 60 in the Senate) are Protestant, with
Baptist as the most represented denomination, followed by Methodist;
 30.5% of Members (141 in the House, 22 in the Senate) are Catholic;
 6.4% of Members (26 in the House, 8 in the Senate) are Jewish;
 1.9% of Members (6 in the House, 4 in the Senate) are Mormon (Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints);
 2 Members (1 in the House, 1 in the Senate) are Buddhist, 3 Representatives are
Muslim, and 3 Representatives are Hindu; and
 other religious affiliations represented include Greek Orthodox, Pentecostal
Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and Adventist.22
Gender and Ethnicity
Women Members
One hundred thirty women Members (24.0% of the total membership) serve in the 116th
Congress, 21 more than at the beginning of the 115th Congress.23 One hundred five women,
including 3 Delegates as wel as the Resident Commissioner, serve in the House and 25 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 wel as the Resident Commissioner. Of the 25 women in
the Senate, 17 are Democrats and 8 are Republicans.24
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.25 Fifty-four serve in the House,
including two Delegates, and three serve in the Senate. This number includes one Representative,
as wel as one Senator, who are of African American and Asian ancestry, and one Representative

22 Detailed religious affiliation information for Members of the 116 th Congress, and comparisons to the U.S. general
population are available at http://www.pewforum.org/2019/01/03/faith-on-the-hill-116/.
23 T he 116th Congress began with 131 women Members; one woman House Member resigned in November 2019, one
woman Senator was appointed in December 2019, and another woman Senator’s temporary term ended in December
2020.
24 For more information, see CRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-2020: Service Dates and Committee
Assignm ents by Mem ber, 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/.
25 T he 116th Congress began with 57 African American Members; one African American House Member passed away
in October 2019, one was sworn into the House in May 2020, another passed away in July 2020, and another was
sworn into the House in December 2020.
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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.26
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, al 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.27 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. Al 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.28 Seventeen of them (16 Democrats, 1 Republican) serve in
the House, and 3 (al 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 al 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.

26 For more information, see CRS Report RL30378, African American Members of the U.S. Congress: 1870-2020, by
Ida A. Brudnick and Jennifer E. Manning; and the Office of the House Historian’s Black Am ericans 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.
27 T his 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 Am ericans 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.
28 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.
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American Indian Members
There are four American Indian (Native American) Members of the 116th Congress; two of each
party, al in the House.29 This is two more than in the 115th Congress, and a record number.
Foreign Birth
Twenty-three Representatives30 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.31
The U.S. Constitution requires that Representatives be citizens for seven years and Senators be
citizens for nine years before they take office.32
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 wel as 1 Delegate); the Senate had 18 veterans,
including 3 women.33 These Members served in the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and
combat or peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, as wel as during times of
peace. Seven House Members and one Senator are stil serving in the reserves, and seven House
Members are stil 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.34

29 T his number includes only Members who are enrolled members of federally recognized tribes. For more information,
see CRS congressional distribution memorandum, Mem bers of Congress of Am erican Indian Descent, by Jennifer
Manning, available to congressional offices upon request.
30 Another House Member born outside the United States resigned in March 2020 and is not counted here.
31 For more information, see Pew Research Center, “In 116 th 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.
32 Article I, Section 2, clause 2, and Article I, Section 3, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution.
33 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.
34 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/.
Congressional Research Service
9

Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile

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.35

Author Information

Jennifer E. Manning

Senior Research Librarian

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

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

35 Because of differences in data sources used, some demographic information may differ between CRS Report
R42365, Representatives and Senators: Trends in Mem ber Characteristics Since 1945 , coordinated by R. Eric Petersen,
this report, and other demographic studies of Congress.
In addition to the CQ Mem ber 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.” T he 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 T hink T ank’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 “ T he Changing Fact of Congress in Five
Charts,” at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/15/the-changing-face-of-congress/.
Congressional Research Service
R45583 · VERSION 27 · UPDATED
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