Contents

• Overview and Total Members in History
• Party Breakdown
• Age
• Occupations
• Education
• Congressional Service
• Religion
• Gender and Ethnicity
• Women Members
• African American Members
• Hispanic/Latino American Members
• Asian/Pacific Islander American Members
• American Indian Members
• Foreign Birth
• Military Service

Summary

This report presents a profile of the membership of the 119^th Congress (2025-2026) as of May 13, 2025, or, where noted, at the beginning of the 119^th Congress (January 3, 2025). 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 220 Republicans (plus 3 Delegates), 213 Democrats (plus 2 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico), and 2 vacant seats. The Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who both caucus with the Democrats. Additionally,

• The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 119^th Congress was 57.9 years; of Senators, 63.9 years.
• The overwhelming majority, 96%, of Members of Congress are four-year college graduates.
• 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. Numerous other affiliations are represented, including Jewish, Latter-day Saints, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Greek and Russian Orthodox, and Unitarian Universalist.
• The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 119^th Congress was 8.6 years (4.3 House terms); for Senators, 11.2 years (1.9 Senate terms).
• One hundred fifty-five women serve in the 119^th Congress: 129 in the House, including 4 Delegates, and 26 in the Senate.
• There are 61 African American Members of the House and 5 in the Senate. This House number includes 2 Delegates.
• There are 56 Hispanic or Latino Members serving: 50 in the House, including 2 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner, and 6 in the Senate.
• There are 24 Members (18 Representatives, 3 Delegates, and 3 Senators) who are Asian Americans or Pacific Islander Americans.
• Four Native Americans (American Indians) serve in the 119^th Congress (3 in the House, 1 in the Senate).

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, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since 1789, 12,585 individuals² have served as either Representatives (11,259 individuals) or Senators (2,018 individuals).³ Of these individuals, 689 have served in both chambers. An additional 181 individuals have served in the House in the role of territorial Delegate or Resident Commissioner.⁴

The following is a profile of the 119^th Congress (2025-2026).⁵

Party Breakdown

In the 119^th Congress, the current party alignments as of May 13, 2025,⁶ are as follows:

• House of Representatives: 220 Republicans (plus 3 Delegates) and 213 Democrats (plus 2 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), and 2 vacant seats.
• Senate: 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents (both caucus with the Democrats).

Age

The average age at the beginning of the 119^th Congress was 57.9 years for Representatives and 63.9 years for Senators.⁷

Table 1 shows the average ages at the beginning of the 119^th and three previous Congresses.

The U.S. Constitution requires Representatives to be at least 25 years old when they take office.⁸ The youngest Representative in the 119^th Congress is Maxwell Frost (D-FL), born January 17, 1997, who was 27 at the beginning of the 119^th Congress. The oldest House Member in the 119^th Congress is Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), born July 13, 1937, who was 87, followed by Representative Harold Rogers (R-KY), born December 31, 1937, also 87.

Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office. The youngest Senator in the 119^th Congress is Jon Ossoff (D-GA), born February 16, 1987, who was 37 at the beginning of the Congress. The oldest Senator in the 119^th Congress is Chuck Grassley (R-IA), born September 17, 1933, who was 91.

Occupations

CQ.com provides data on occupations declared by Members of Congress in the 119^th Congress. The most common professions are law, business, and public service/politics. For example, 31% of House Members, and 47% of Senators, have law degrees and have practiced law. Three hundred five House Members (70% of the House) and 82 Senators (82% of the Senate) have served as elected officials at the local, state, or federal level before arriving in Congress. CQ data also indicate that at least 135 House Members (31% of the House) and 28 Senators (28% of the Senate) have been owners, founders, or executives of businesses or companies.

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 119^th Congress, as listed in their CQ Member Profiles,⁹ also shows the following:

• 45 Senators with previous House service;
• 119 Members who have worked in education, including teachers, professors, instructors, school fundraisers, counselors, administrators, or coaches (100 in the House, 19 in the Senate);
• 4 physicians in the Senate, 16 physicians in the House, plus 4 dentists;¹⁰
• 1 psychologist (in the House), an optometrist (in the Senate), 2 pharmacists (in the House), and 3 nurses and 1 emergency medical technician (all in the House);
• 5 ordained ministers (3 in the House, 2 in the Senate);
• 38 mayors¹¹ (32 in the House, 6 in the Senate);
• 12 state governors (all in the Senate) and 11 lieutenant governors (7 in the Senate, 4 in the House);
• 9 attorneys general of their states (8 in the Senate, 1 in the House) and 6 secretaries of state (2 in the Senate, 4 in the House);
• 15 judges (all but 2 in the House) and 41 prosecutors (12 in the Senate, 29 in the House) who have served in city, county, state, federal, or military capacities;
• 3 Ambassadors (1 in the Senate, 2 in the House);
• 251 state or territorial legislators (41 in the Senate, 210 in the House; also 1 Delegate);¹²
• at least 91 congressional staffers (20 in the Senate, 71 in the House; including 2 Delegates), as well as 4 congressional pages (1 in the House and 3 in the Senate);¹³
• 3 sheriffs, 3 police officers, 1 fire chief, 1 firefighter, 1 parole officer, and 1 FBI agent (all in the House) and 1 CIA analyst in the Senate;
• 2 Peace Corps volunteers in the House; 2 AmeriCorps volunteers in the Senate and 1 in the House;
• 2 physicists and 2 chemists, all in the House, and 1 geologist in the Senate;
• 10 engineers (9 in the House and 1 in the Senate);
• 30 public relations, marketing, or communications professionals (5 in the Senate, 25 in the House) and 5 accountants (1 in the Senate and 4 in the House);
• 3 software company executives in the House and 2 in the Senate;
• 47 consultants¹⁴ (9 in the Senate, 38 in the House), 6 car dealership owners (all but 1 in the House), and 6 venture capitalists (2 in the House, 4 in the Senate);
• 12 bankers or bank executives (2 in the Senate, 10 in the House), 22 Members who have worked in the real estate industry (3 in the Senate, 19 in the House), and 10 Members who have worked in the construction industry (2 in the Senate, 8 in the House);
• 3 social workers (all in the House)¹⁵ and 5 union representatives (all in the House);
• 36 nonprofit executives or founders (32 in the House, 4 in the Senate);
• 3 radio talk show hosts (both in the House); 4 radio or television broadcasters, managers, or owners (3 in the House, 1 in the Senate); 11 reporters or journalists (all in the House); and 2 newspaper publishers in the House;
• 16 insurance agents or executives (3 in the Senate, 13 in the House) and 14 Members who have worked in the securities and investment industries (3 in the Senate, 11 in the House);
• 1 artist, 1 book publisher, and 1 speechwriter (all in the House), and 2 documentary filmmakers in the Senate;
• 8 restaurateurs, as well as 1 coffee shop owner, and 1 whiskey distillery owner (all in the House), and 1 brewpub owner in the Senate;
• 33 farmers, ranchers, or cattle farm owners (8 in the Senate, 25 in the House);
• 1 almond orchard owner, a forester, a fruit orchard worker, and a horse trainer (all in the House);
• 1 flight attendant and 3 pilots, all in the House, and 1 astronaut in the Senate;
• 1 professional football player, 1 hockey player, 1 baseball player, and 1 mixed martial arts fighter (all in the House); and
• 5 current members of the military reserves and 3 current members of the National Guard (all in the House).

Other occupations listed in the CQ Member Profiles include emergency dispatcher, ride share driver, animal nutrition specialist, electrician, occupational therapist, rodeo announcer, carpenter, video game developer, computer systems analyst, software engineer, R&D lab executive, talent agent, and explosives expert.

Education

As has been true in recent Congresses, the vast majority of Members (96% of House Members and 99% of Senators) at the beginning of the 119^th Congress have earned at least a bachelor's degree. Sixty-six percent of House Members and 78% of Senators hold advanced educational degrees beyond a bachelor's.¹⁶ The CQ Member Profiles at the beginning of the 119^th Congress indicate the following:

• 19 Members of the House have no educational degree beyond a high school diploma or GED;
• 1 Member of the House, and 1 Senator, has an associate's degree as their highest degree;
• 109 Members of the House and 22 Senators earned a master's degree as their highest attained degrees;
• 140 Members of the House (31.7% of the House) and 47 Senators (47% of the Senate) hold law degrees;
• 23 Representatives and 4 Senators have doctoral (Ph.D., D.Phil., Ed.D., or D.Min.) degrees; and
• 21 Members of the House and 5 Senators have medical degrees.¹⁷

By comparison, approximately 40 years ago in the 99^th Congress (1985-1986), 84.8% of House Members and 88% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. Fifty years ago, in the 94^th Congress (1975-1976), 82.5% of House Members and 88% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. Sixty years ago, in the 89^th Congress (1965-1966), 74% of House Members and 57% of Senators held bachelor's degrees.¹⁸

Eight Representatives and two Senators are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), five Representatives and two Senators graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, two Representatives graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. One Representative and two Senators were Rhodes Scholars, one Representative was a Fulbright Scholar, two Representatives were Marshall Scholars, and one Representative and two Senators were Truman Scholars.¹⁹

Congressional Service

The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 119^th Congress was 8.6 years (4.3 House terms); for Senators, 11.2 years (1.9 Senate terms).

Table 2 shows the average length of service at the beginning of the 119^th and three previous Congresses.

At the beginning of the 119^th Congress, 62 of the House Members (14.1% of the total House membership) had first been elected to the House in November 2024, and 12 of the Senators (12% of the total Senate membership) had first been elected to the Senate in November 2024.²⁰ By comparison, at the beginning of the 118^th Congress, 16.8% of the House and 7% of the Senate were newly elected "freshmen."

At the beginning of the 119^th Congress, 135 House Members (30.6% of House Members) had no more than two years of House experience, and 20 Senators (20% of Senators) had no more than two years of Senate experience. By comparison, at the beginning of the 118^th Congress, 31.1% of the House, and 16% of Senators, had no more than two years of experience in their respective chambers.

For more historical information on the tenure of Members of Congress, see CRS Report R41545, Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2025, by Sarah J. Eckman and Amber Hope Wilhelm.

Religion

Ninety-six percent of the Members of the 119^th Congress report an affiliation with a specific religion.²¹

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 119^th Congress showed the following:

• 55.1% of Members (237 in the House, 58 in the Senate) are Protestant, with Baptist as the most represented denomination, followed by Methodist;
• 28.0% of Members (126 in the House, 24 in the Senate) are Catholic;
• 6.0% of Members (23 in the House, 9 in the Senate) are Jewish;
• 1.7% of Members (6 in the House, 3 in the Senate) are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;
• 3 Members (1 in the House, 1 in the Senate) are Buddhist, 4 Representatives are Muslim, and 4 Representatives are Hindu; and
• other religious affiliations represented include Eastern Orthodox, Messianic Jewish, and Unitarian Universalist.²²

Gender and Ethnicity

Women Members

One hundred fifty-five women Members (28.65% of the total membership) serve in the 119^th Congress. This is the same total number as at the end of the 118^th Congress, but two more than at the beginning of the 118^th Congress.²³ One hundred twenty-nine women, including 4 Delegates, serve in the House and 26 in the Senate. Of the 129 women in the House, 96 are Democrats, including 2 of the Delegates, and 33 are Republicans, including 2 Delegates. Of the 26 women in the Senate, 16 are Democrats and 10 are Republicans.²⁴

By comparison, 30 years ago in the 104^rd Congress (1995-1996), 50 women served in the House, and 9 in the Senate. Forty years ago, in the 99^th Congress (1985-1986), there were 23 women in the House, and 2 in the Senate.

African American Members

There are 66 African American Members (12.2% of the total membership) in the 119^th Congress, four more than at the beginning of the 118^th Congress.²⁵ Sixty-one serve in the House, including two Delegates, and five serve in the Senate. This number includes two Representatives who are of African American and Asian ancestry, and two Representatives who are of African American and Hispanic ancestry. In this report, each of these four Members is counted as belonging to two ethnic groups. Fifty-seven of the African American House Members, including two Delegates, are Democrats, and four are Republicans. Four of the Senators are Democrats and one is Republican. Twenty-nine African American women, including two Delegates, serve in the House, and two serve in the Senate.²⁶

By comparison, 40 years ago in the 99^th Congress (1985-1986), 21 African American Members served in the House, and none in the Senate. Sixty years ago, in the 89^th Congress (1965-1966), there were 6 African American Members of Congress, all serving in the House.

Hispanic/Latino American Members

There are 56 Hispanic or Latino Members in the 119^th Congress, 10.35% of the total membership and 6 fewer than at the beginning of the 118^th Congress.²⁷ Fifty serve in the House, including one Delegate and the Resident Commissioner, and six in the Senate.²⁸ These numbers include one House Member who is also of Asian descent, and two House Members who are also of African ancestry; these three Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of the Members of the House, 38 are Democrats (including one Delegate and the Resident Commissioner) and 12 are Republicans (including one Delegate). Nineteen are women. Of the six Hispanic Senators (two Republicans, four Democrats), one is a woman. By comparison, 40 years ago in the 99^th Congress (1985-1986), 14 Hispanic or Latino Members served in Congress. All 14 were male Members of the House.

Asian/Pacific Islander American Members

Twenty-four Members of the 119^th Congress (4.4% of the total membership) are of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry. This is three more than at the beginning of the 118^th Congress.²⁹ Twenty-one of them (16 Democrats, 5 Republicans) serve in the House, and three (all Democrats) serve in the Senate. These numbers include two House Members who are also of African American ancestry and one House Member who is also of Hispanic ancestry; these three Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of those serving in the House, three are Delegates. Eleven of the Asian, Pacific Islander, or South Asian American Members are female: nine in the House, and two in the Senate. By comparison, 40 years ago in the 99^th Congress (1985-1986), there were five Asian/Pacific Islander Americans in the House, and two in the Senate. All were male.

American Indian Members

There are four Native American (American Indian) Members of the 119^th Congress: three in the House (two Republicans and one Democrat) and one, a Republican, in the Senate.³⁰ This is 0.74% of the total congressional membership.

Foreign Birth

Twenty-six Representatives and six Senators (6.0% of the 119^th Congress) were born outside the United States. Their places of birth include Cuba, Germany, Guatemala, India, Japan, South Korea, Peru, and Ukraine. 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 119^th Congress, there were 98 individuals (18.1% of the total membership) who had served or were serving in the military, the same number as at the beginning of the 118^th Congress. According to lists compiled by CQ, the House as of January 2025 had 80 veterans (including 7 female Members, as well as 1 Delegate); the Senate had 18 veterans, including 2 women.³³ These Members' service included tours of duty in the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War, and combat or peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo. As of February 2025, five House Members are still serving in the Reserves, and three House Members are still serving in the National Guard. Three of the nine female veterans are combat veterans.

The number of veterans in the 119^th Congress reflects a trend of decline in recent decades in the number of Members who have served in the military. For example, 64% of the Members of the 97^th Congress (1981-1982) were veterans, and in the 92^nd Congress (1971-1972), 73% of the Members were veterans.³⁴

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

Footnotes