116th Congress: By the Numbers

Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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There's a storm brewing.

And it appears to be radiating from the 116th Congress.

Ever since Congress swung open its doors in January, the new legislative body has been active advancing a progressive agenda, including stricter background checks for gun owners, climate change ("Green New Deal'), Medicare for All (single-payer health care), ramping up its oversight and investigations power on the activity of pharmacy benefit managers and health insurance mergers, while  delivering a sharp rebuke to President Trump's proposal for funding the border wall in the southwestern area of the country.

Since the Democrats now control the House of Representatives for the first time since 2014, they are pursuing their progressive agenda with the wind at their back.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than one-in-five voting members (22 percent) of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities, making the 116th Congress the most racially and ethnically diverse in history.

The marked increase in minority representation in the House has benefited the Democrats by a wide margin. Of the 22 freshman representatives who are nonwhite, just one is a Republican (Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, who is Hispanic).

The overwhelming majority of racial and ethnic nonwhite members of the new Congress, moreover, are Democrats (90 percent), while just 10 are Republicans.

To get a sense of the diverse makeup of the 116th Congress, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has compiled a membership profile of the new Congress.

What follows are some highlights of the report.

Membership Alignment

House of Representatives

• 239 Democrats (including 4 Delegates)
• 199 Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), and 3 vacant seats.

Senate

• 53 Republicans
• 45 Democrats
• 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.
• 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.
• Keeping in mind that 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.

Professional Occupation

• 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.
• 2 Psychologists (all 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, all 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 (all 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 (all in the House).
• 3 Sheriffs, 1 Police Chief and 3 other police officers, 1 Firefighter, 3 CIA employees, and 1 FBI agent (all in the House).
• 3 Peace Corps volunteers, all 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 Cealership owners (all 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 (all 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 (all 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 (all in the House).
• 1 Artist, 1 Book Publisher, and 2 Speechwriters (all in the House), and 1 Documentary Filmmaker in the Senate.
• 6 Restaurateurs (5 in the House, 1 in the Senate), as well as 2 Coffee Shop Owners, 1 Wine Store Owner, and 1 Whiskey Distiller (all 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 well as a Forester and a Fruit Orchard Worker (all in the House).
• 1 Flight Attendant and 1 Pilot, both in the House.
• 3 Professional Football Players, 1 Hockey player, 1 Baseball player, and 1 Mixed Martial arts fighter (all in the House)
• 9 current members of the Military Reserves (8 in the House, 1 in the Senate) and 7 current members of the National Guard (all in the House).

Education

• 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 percent of the Senate) hold law degrees
• 21 Representatives and 4 Senators have doctoral (Ph.D., D.Phil., Ed.D., or D. Min) degrees.
• 21 Members of the House and 4 Senators have medical degrees.
• 5 Representatives and one Senator are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, two Representatives and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
• 5 Representatives and one Senator were Rhodes Scholars, 2 Representatives were Fulbright Scholars, 2 Representatives were Marshall Scholars, and 2 Representatives and 1 Senator were Truman Scholars.

Religion

• 9 percent of Members (233 in the House, 60 in the Senate) are Protestant, with Baptist as the most represented denomination, followed by Methodist.
• 5 percent of Members (141 in the House, 22 in the Senate) are Catholic.
• 4 percent of Members (26 in the House, 8 in the Senate) are Jewish.
• 9 percent 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.
• Other religious affiliations represented include Greek Orthodox, Pentecostal Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and Adventist.

Gender and Ethnicity

• A record 131 women Members (24.2 percent of the total membership) serve in the 116th Congress, 22 more than at the beginning of the 115th Congress.
• One hundred six women, including 3 Delegates as well as the Resident Commissioner, serve in the House and 25 in the Senate.
• Of the 106 women in the House, 91 are Democrats, including 2 of the Delegates, and 15 are Republicans, including 1 Delegate as well as the Resident Commissioner.
• Of the 25 women in the Senate, 17 are Democrats and 8 are Republicans.

African American Members

• There are a record 58 African American Members (10.7 percent of the total membership) in the 116th Congress, 6 more than at the beginning of the 115th Congress.
• 55 serve in the House, including two Delegates, and three serve in the Senate.
• 54 of the African American House Members, including two Delegates, are Democrats, and 1 is a Republican.
• 2 of the Senators are Democrats and 1 is Republican.
• 24 African American women, including 2 Delegates, serve in the House, and 1 serves in the Senate.

Hispanic/Latino American Members

• There are 50 Hispanic or Latino Members in the 116th Congress, 9.2 percent of the total membership and a record number.
• 45 serve in the House, including two delegates and the Resident Commissioner, and 5 in the Senate.
• Of the Members of the House, 37 are Democrats (including 2 Delegates) and 8 are Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner).
• 14 are women, including the Resident Commissioner.
• Of the 5 Hispanic Senators (three Republicans, two Democrats), 1 is a woman.

Asian/Pacific Islander American Members

• A record 20 Members of the 116th Congress (3.8 percent of the total membership) are of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry.
• 17 of them (16 Democrats, 1 Republican) serve in the House, and 3 (all Democrats) serve in the Senate.
• 10 of the Asian, Pacific Islander, or South Asian American Members are female: 7 in the House, and all 3 in the Senate.

American Indian Members

• There are 4 American Indian (Native American) Members of the 116th Congress; 2 of each party, all in the House.

Foreign Birth

• 24 Representatives and 5 Senators (5.3 percent of the 116th Congress) were born outside the United States. Their places of birth include Canada, Cuba, Ecuador, Germany, Japan, Peru, and India.

Military Service

• At the beginning of the 116th Congress, there were 96 individuals (17.8 percent 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).
• 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.
• 8 House Members and 1 Senator are still serving in the reserves, while 7 House Members are still serving in the National Guard. 4 of the seven female veterans are combat veterans.

—Bill Lucey

[email protected]

March 14, 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), CQ Member Profiles; Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life Project