117th United States Congress

2021–2023 meeting of U.S. legislature

The 117th United States Congress was the 117th legislative cycle for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It started on January 3, 2021, as a result of the 2020 United States Senate elections, 2020 United States House of Representatives elections and the 2020 United States presidential election. The 117th Congress ended on January 3, 2023, while the 118th United States Congress began that same day. The Democratic Party controlled the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate there are 50 Democratic senators and 50 Republican senators. Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris only votes when it is a tie. She votes for the Democrats. In the House of Representatives, the Democrats have 221 people and the Republicans have 211.

Party breakdown

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Senate

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  Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic Independent
(caucusing with
Democrats)
Republican
End of previous Congress 46 2 52 100 0
Begin (January 3, 2021)[a] 46 2 51 99 1
January 18, 2021[b] 45 98 2
January 20, 2021[b][c][d] 48 2 50 100 0
Latest voting share 50.0% 50.0%  

House of Representatives

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  Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic Independent Republican Other
End of previous Congress 233 1 195 1[e] 430 5
Begin (January 3, 2021)[f][g] 222 0 211 0 433 2
January 15, 2021[h] 221 432 3
Latest voting share 51.2% 0.0% 48.8% 0.0%  
Non-voting members 3 1 2 0 6 0

Leadership

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Senate

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President of the Senate

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President of the Senate Kamala Harris

The President of the Senate is Kamala Harris. (D)

Senate President Pro Tempore

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The President Pro Tempore of the Senate is Patrick Leahy. (D)

Senate Majority Leader

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The Senate Majority Leader is Chuck Schumer.[7] (D)

 
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Minority Leader

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The Senate Minority Leader is Mitch McConnell. (R)

Senate Majority Whip

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The Senate Majority Whip is Dick Durbin. (D)

Senate Minority Whip

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The Senate Minority Whip is John Thune. (R)

Speaker

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi. (D)

Majority Leader

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The House Majority Leader is Steny Hoyer. (D)

Minority Leader

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The House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthy. (R)

Majority Whip

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Majority Whip Jim Clyburn

The House Majority Whip is Jim Clyburn.

Minority Whip

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The House Minority Whip is Steve Scalise. (R)

  1. The Congress began with 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats (including 2 independents who caucus with the Democrats) and 1 vacancy in the Senate. Georgia's class 2 seat was vacant from the start until Democrat Jon Ossoff was seated January 20, 2021. Georgia's class 3 Republican interim appointee Kelly Loeffler served until Democrat Raphael Warnock was seated January 20, 2021.[1]
  2. 2.0 2.1 In California: Kamala Harris (D) resigned January 18, 2021, to become U.S. Vice President.
    Alex Padilla (D) was appointed to complete the unexpired term and began serving January 20, 2021.[2]
  3. In Georgia: Kelly Loeffler (R) lost a special election to finish the term.
    Jon Ossoff (D) and Raphael Warnock (D) began their service January 20, 2021.[3][4]
  4. Kamala Harris (D) became U.S. Vice President January 20, 2021, with the tie-breaking vote.
  5. There was 1 Libertarian at the end of the previous Congress.
  6. In Louisiana's 5th district: member elect Luke Letlow (R) died December 29, 2020, before the term started.[5]
  7. In New York's 22nd district: the term began with the previous election disputed.[6]
  8. In Louisiana's 2nd district: Cedric Richmond (D) resigned January 15, 2021, to serve in the Biden administration.

References

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  1. Werner, Erica; Gardner, Amy (January 19, 2021). "Georgia certifies Ossoff and Warnock victories, paving way for Democratic control of Senate". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  2. Janes, Chelsea. "Kamala Harris resigns her Senate seat". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  3. Bluestein, Greg; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Georgia U.S. Senate results certified; Ossoff and Warnock set to take office Wednesday". ajc. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  4. "Kamala Harris to swear in Alex Padilla to Senate after inauguration". SFChronicle.com. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  5. Hilburn, Greg (December 30, 2020). "Here's how the late Luke Letlow's congressional seat will be filled following his COVID death". The News-Star. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  6. "NY-22 house seat to become vacant Jan. 3 with court case continuing into 2021". WBNG.com. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  7. Swanson, Ian (November 10, 2020). "Senate Democrats reelect Schumer as leader by acclamation". TheHill. Retrieved November 10, 2020.