The 118th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2023, and will end on January 3, 2025, taking place during the final two years of President Joe Biden's initial term.
| 118th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
117th ← → 119th | |
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January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Members | 100 senators 435 representatives 6 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | Kamala Harris (D) |
| House majority | Republican |
| House Speaker | Kevin McCarthy (R) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: January 3, 2023 – TBD | |
In the 2022 midterm elections, the Republican Party won control of the House for the first time since the 115th Congress, while the Democratic Party gained one seat in the Senate, giving them a 51–49 majority (with a caucus of 48 Democrats and three independents). This marks the first split Congress since the 116th, and the first Republican House–Democratic Senate split since the 113th. With Republicans winning the House, the 118th Congress ended the federal government trifecta Democrats held in the 117th.[1]
This congress also features the first female Senate president pro tempore (Patty Murray), the first Black party leader (Hakeem Jeffries) in congressional history, and the longest serving Senate party leader (Mitch McConnell). Additionally, it began with a multi-ballot election for Speaker of the House, which had not happened since the 68th Congress in 1923. Kevin McCarthy was eventually elected speaker on the 15th ballot.
Major eventsEdit
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President Joe Biden during his 2023 State of the Union Address with Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
- January 3, 2023, 12:00 p.m. EST: Congress convened. Members-elect of the United States Senate were sworn in, but members-elect of the United States House of Representatives could not be sworn as the House adjourned for the day without electing a speaker.[2]
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- January 3–7, 2023: The election for the House speakership took 15 ballots. Kevin McCarthy was ultimately elected as speaker, but only after six representatives-elect voted "present", lowering the threshold to be elected from 218 to 215.[3]
- February 2, 2023: House voted 218–211 to remove Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- February 7, 2023: President Joe Biden delivered the 2023 State of the Union Address.
Major legislationEdit
EnactedEdit
- March 20, 2023: COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, S. 619
Proposed (but not enacted)Edit
- House bills
- H.R. 5: Parents Bill of Rights Act (awaiting action in the Senate)
- H.R. 7: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2023
- H.R. 21: Strategic Production Response Act (awaiting action in the Senate)
- H.R. 22: Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act (awaiting action in the Senate)
- H.R. 23: Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act (awaiting action in the Senate)
- H.R. 25: FairTax Act of 2023
- H.R. 26: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (awaiting action in the Senate)
- H.R. 27: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act
- H.R. 28: Illegal Alien NICS Alert Act
- H.R. 29: Border Safety and Security Act of 2023
- H.R. 51: Washington, D.C., Admission Act
- H.R. 277: Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act
- Senate bills
- S. 316: A bill to repeal the authorizations for use of military force against Iraq.
Major resolutionsEdit
AdoptedEdit
- H.Res. 5: Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, and for other purposes.
- H.Res. 11: Establishing the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
- H.Res. 12: Establishing a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government as a select investigative subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary.
- H.Res. 76: Removing Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
- H.J.Res. 26: Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022.
ProposedEdit
- H.Res. 8: Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security.
- H.Con.Res. 3: Expressing the sense of Congress condemning the recent attacks on pro-life facilities, groups, and churches. (awaiting action in the Senate)
- H.Con.Res. 4: Expressing support for the Nation's law enforcement agencies and condemning any efforts to defund or dismantle law enforcement agencies.
- H.Con.Res. 9: Denouncing the horrors of socialism. (awaiting action in the Senate)
VetoedEdit
- H.J.Res. 30: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights".
Party summaryEdit
- Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section:
SenateEdit
Senate membership
(January 23, 2023)
(January 8, 2023 – January 23, 2023)
-
Begin (January 3, 2023 – January 8, 2023)
| Party (shading shows control)
|
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Independent | Republican | |||
| End of previous Congress[a] | 48 | 2 | 50 | 100 | 0 |
| Begin (January 3, 2023) | 48 | 3 | 49 | 100 | 0 |
| January 8, 2023[b] | 48 | 99 | 1 | ||
| January 23, 2023[b] | 49 | 100 | 0 | ||
| Latest voting share | 51.0% | 49.0% | |||
House of RepresentativesEdit
| Party (shading shows control)
|
Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | |||
| End of previous Congress | 216 | 213 | 429 | 6 |
| Begin (January 3, 2023)[c] | 212 | 222 | 434 | 1 |
| March 7, 2023[d] | 213 | 435 | 0 | |
| Latest voting share | 49.0% | 51.0% | ||
| Non-voting members | 3 | 3[e] | 6 | 0 |
LeadershipEdit
Note: Democrats refer to themselves as a "Caucus"; Republicans refer to themselves as a "Conference".
SenateEdit
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Senate President
Kamala Harris (D)
Kamala Harris (D)
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Senate President pro tempore
Patty Murray (D)
Patty Murray (D)
PresidingEdit
Majority (Democratic)Edit
- Majority Leader/Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus[f]: Chuck Schumer (NY)
- Majority Whip: Dick Durbin (IL)
- Chair of the Democratic Policy & Communications Committee: Debbie Stabenow (MI)
- Chair of the Democratic Steering Committee: Amy Klobuchar (MN)
- Vice Chairs, Senate Democratic Caucus: Mark Warner (VA) & Elizabeth Warren (MA)
- Chair of the Democratic Outreach Committee: Bernie Sanders (VT)
- Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus: Tammy Baldwin (WI)
- Vice Chairs of the Democratic Policy & Communications Committee: Joe Manchin (WV) & Cory Booker (NJ)
- Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: Gary Peters (MI)
- Vice Chair of the Democratic Steering Committee: Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
- Vice Chair of the Democratic Outreach Committee: Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)
- Deputy Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus: Brian Schatz (HI)
- Senate Democratic Chief Deputy Whip: Jeff Merkley (OR)
- Vice Chairs of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: Tina Smith (MN) & Alex Padilla (CA)
Minority (Republican)Edit
- Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (KY)[10][11]
- Minority Whip: John Thune (SD)
- Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference: John Barrasso (WY)
- Chairwoman of the Republican Policy Committee: Joni Ernst (IA)
- Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference: Shelley Moore Capito (WV)
- Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee: Steve Daines (MT)
- Chair of the Senate Republican Steering Committee: Mike Lee (UT)
House of RepresentativesEdit
House Speaker
Kevin McCarthy (R)
Kevin McCarthy (R)
PresidingEdit
- Speaker: Kevin McCarthy (R) (CA 20)
Majority (Republican)Edit
- Majority Leader: Steve Scalise (LA 1)
- Majority Whip: Tom Emmer (MN 6)
- Conference Chair: Elise Stefanik (NY 21)
- Conference Vice Chair: Mike Johnson (LA 4)
- Conference Secretary: Lisa McClain (MI 9)
- Campaign Committee Chairman: Richard Hudson (NC 9)
- Majority Chief Deputy Whip: Guy Reschenthaler (PA 14)
Minority (Democratic)Edit
- Minority Leader: Hakeem Jeffries (NY 8)[12]
- Minority Whip: Katherine Clark (MA 5)
- Caucus Chairman: Pete Aguilar (CA 33)
- Caucus Vice Chairman: Ted Lieu (CA 36)
- Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: Suzan DelBene (WA 1)
- Assistant Democratic Leader: Jim Clyburn (SC 6)
- Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: Joe Neguse (CO 2)
- Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: Veronica Escobar (TX 16)
- House Democratic Freshman Class Leadership Representative: Jasmine Crockett (TX 30)
MembersEdit
SenateEdit
The numbers refer to their Senate classes. All class 3 seats were contested in the November 2022 elections. In this Congress, class 3 means their term commenced in 2023, requiring re-election in 2028; class 1 means their term ends with this Congress, requiring re-election in 2024; and class 2 means their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 2026.
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House of RepresentativesEdit
All 435 seats were filled by election in November 2022. Additionally, six non-voting members were elected from the American territories and Washington, D.C.[h]
The numbers refer to the congressional district of the given state in this Congress. Eight new congressional districts were created or re-created, while eight others were eliminated, as a result of the 2020 United States census.[i][j]
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Changes in membershipEdit
Senate changesEdit
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[l] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska (2) |
Ben Sasse (R) |
Incumbent resigned January 8, 2023, to become the president of the University of Florida.[6] Successor was appointed January 12, 2023.[15][m] |
Pete Ricketts (R) |
January 23, 2023 |
House of Representatives changesEdit
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[l] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia 4 | Vacant | Incumbent Donald McEachin (D) died November 28, 2022, before the beginning of this Congress. A special election was held on February 21, 2023.[17] |
Jennifer McClellan (D) |
March 7, 2023 |
| Rhode Island 1 | David Cicilline (D) |
Incumbent will resign by June 1, 2023, to become CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. A special election will be held on a date to be determined by Governor Dan McKee.[13] |
TBD | |
CommitteesEdit
Section contents: Senate, House, Joint
Senate CommitteesEdit
Standing CommitteesEdit
Select, Permanent Select & Special CommitteesEdit
| Committee | Chair | Ranking Member |
|---|---|---|
| Aging (Special) | Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) | Mike Braun (R-IN) |
| Ethics (Select) | Chris Coons (D-DE) | James Lankford (R-OK) |
| Indian Affairs (Permanent Select) | Brian Schatz (D-HI) | Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) |
| Intelligence (Select) | Mark Warner (D-VA) | Marco Rubio (R-FL) |
| International Narcotics Control (Permanent Caucus) | Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) | Chuck Grassley (R-IA) |
House of Representatives committeesEdit
Joint committeesEdit
| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair | Ranking Member | Vice Ranking Member |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Library | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Printing | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Taxation[n] | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Officers and officialsEdit
Congressional officersEdit
- Architect of the Capitol: Brett Blanton (Until February 23rd, 2023)
- Attending Physician: Brian P. Monahan
Senate officersEdit
- Chaplain: Barry Black (Seventh-day Adventist)
- Curator: Melinda Smith
- Historian: Betty Koed
- Librarian: Leona I. Faust
- Parliamentarian: Elizabeth MacDonough
- Secretary: Sonceria Berry
- Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper: Karen Gibson
House of Representatives officersEdit
- Chaplain: Margaret G. Kibben (Presbyterian)
- Chief Administrative Officer: Catherine Szpindor
- Clerk: Cheryl Johnson
- Historian: Matthew Wasniewski
- Parliamentarian: Jason Smith
- Reading Clerks: Tylease Alli (D) and Susan Cole (R)
- Sergeant at Arms: William McFarland
See alsoEdit
- List of new members of the 118th United States Congress
- 2022 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 2024 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
NotesEdit
- ^ a b In Arizona: Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party to become an independent politician on December 9, 2022. Effective January 3, 2023, Sinema does not participate in either political party caucus but keeps her seniority and continues to receive committee assignments through the Democrats.[4][5]
- ^ a b c d In Nebraska: Ben Sasse (R) resigned on January 8, 2023, to become President of the University of Florida.[6] Pete Ricketts (R) was appointed to fill the vacancy on January 12, 2023, and took office on January 23.
- ^ a b In Virginia's 4th district: Donald McEachin (D) died November 28, 2022, before the new Congress started.[7]
- ^ a b In Virginia's 4th district: Jennifer McClellan (D) won a special election on February 21, 2023. She was sworn in on March 7.[8]
- ^ Includes a New Progressive Party member who is also affiliated as a Republican.
- ^ Since 1920, the Senate Democratic Leader has also concurrently served as the Democratic Caucus Chairperson; this is an unwritten tradition.
- ^ a b c d e f The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party and its members are counted as Democrats.
- ^ a b Puerto Rico's non-voting member, the Resident Commissioner, is elected every four years. Jenniffer González was last elected in 2020.
- ^ The new districts created were: Colorado's 8th; Florida's 28th; North Carolina's 14th; Oregon's 6th; Texas's 37th; Texas's 38th. The districts re-created were: Montana's 1st; Montana's 2nd.
- ^ The eliminated districts were: California's 53rd; Illinois's 18th; Michigan's 14th; Montana's at-large; New York's 27th; Ohio's 16th; Pennsylvania's 18th; West Virginia's 3rd.
- ^ In Rhode Island's 1st district: David Cicilline (D) will resign on June 1, 2023.[13]
- ^ a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
- ^ Ricketts serves as senator on an interim basis, until a special election, which will be held on November 5, 2024, concurrently with the presidential election and the general election for Nebraska's class 1 senator. The winner of the special election will complete the remainder of Sasse's term, which expires on January 3, 2027, when the winner of the 2026 regular election will commence a full term.[16]
- ^ The Joint Taxation Committee leadership rotate the chair and vice chair and the ranking members between the House and Senate at the start of each session in the middle of the congressional term. The first session leadership is shown here.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "Republicans win control of the House, NBC News projects, overtaking Democrats by a slim margin". NBC News. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ "House Speaker Election Coverage: House adjourns after McCarthy suffers defeat on third ballot". The Hill. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ McCartney, Allison; Parlapiano, Alicia; Wu, Ashley; Zhang, Christine; Williams, Josh; Cochrane, Emily; Murphy, John-Michael (January 6, 2023). "Vote Count: McCarthy Elected House Speaker After 15 Ballots". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ "Sinema leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent". CNN. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ 2023 Congressional Record, Vol. 169, Page S22 (January 3, 2023)
- ^ a b Hammel, Paul (December 5, 2022). "Ben Sasse makes it official, will resign U.S. Senate seat Jan. 8". Nebraska Examiner. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ LeBlanc, Paul (November 29, 2022). "Virginia Rep. Donald McEachin dies at age 61". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ "On our radar: Jennifer McClellan will be sworn in to Congress next week". The Washington Post. March 2, 2023.
- ^ Gutman, David (November 16, 2022). "Patty Murray to be first female Senate president pro tempore, third in line for presidency". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Treene, Andrew Solender,Alayna (November 16, 2022). "McConnell re-elected as Senate GOP leader". Axios. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ LeVine, Marianne. "McConnell breaks Senate record for longest-serving leader". Politico. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- ^ Mizelle, Shawna (January 4, 2023). "Hakeem Jeffries to make history as the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress". CNN. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Garrity, Kelly. "Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline to leave Congress". politico.com. Politico. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ Gilbert, Haidee Eugenio (November 8, 2022). "Moylan defeats Won Pat in delegate race". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
- ^ "Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen to announce US Senator Ben Sasse's replacement on Thursday". KETV. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
The appointment, which will be announced at 9 a.m., will be effective on Thursday.
- ^ "Nebraska Revised Statute 32-565". nebraskalegislature.gov. Nebraska Legislature. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ Flynn, Meagan (December 12, 2022). "Youngkin announces special election to fill late Rep. McEachin's seat". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2022.