117th United States Congress

The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2021, during the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency, and will end on January 3, 2023. It will meet during the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency.

For a general discussion of the United States government's legislative branch, see United States Congress.
117th United States Congress
116th ←
→ 118th
January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Members100 senators
435 representatives
6 non-voting delegates
Senate MajorityRepublican
(until January 20, 2021)
Democratic
(from January 20, 2021)
Senate PresidentMike Pence (R)
(until January 20, 2021)
Kamala Harris (D)
(from January 20, 2021)
House MajorityDemocratic
House SpeakerNancy Pelosi (D)
Sessions
1st: January 3, 2021 – present

The 2020 elections decided control of both chambers. In the House of Representatives, the Democratic Party retained their majority (albeit reduced from the 116th Congress).

In the Senate, the Republican Party briefly held the majority at the beginning of the term. On January 20, 2021, three new Democratic senators (Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California) were sworn in, resulting in 50 seats held by Republicans, 48 seats held by Democrats, and two held by independents who caucus with the Democrats. Effectively, this created a 50–50 split, which had not occurred since the 107th Congress in 2001.

With Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie breaker in her constitutional role as Senate President, Democrats have control of the Senate, and thereby have full control of Congress for the first time since the 111th Congress ended in 2011.

Major events
2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol (January 6, 2021)
Joe Biden takes the oath of office as the 46th President of the United States

Major legislation

Enacted
Main article: List of acts of the 117th United States Congress

Proposed (but not enacted)
Main article: List of bills in the 117th United States Congress

Major resolutions

Adopted
  • H.Res. 21: Calling on Vice President Michael R. Pence to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments of the Cabinet to activate section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare President Donald J. Trump incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as acting President.
  • H.Res. 24 (Second impeachment of Donald Trump): Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
  • S.Res. 5: A resolution honoring the memory of Officer Brian David Sicknick of the United States Capitol Police for his selfless acts of heroism on the grounds of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
  • H.Res. 72 (Removal of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments): Removing a certain Member from certain standing committees of the House of Representatives

Proposed
  • H.Res. 14: Censuring and condemning President Donald J. Trump for attempting to overturn the results of the November 2020 presidential election in the State of Georgia
  • H.Res. 25: Directing the Committee on Ethics to investigate, and issue a report on, whether any and all actions taken by Members of the 117th Congress who sought to overturn the 2020 Presidential election violated their oath of office to uphold the Constitution or the Rules of the House of Representatives, and should face sanction, including removal from the House of Representatives.

Party summary
Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section below.

Senate
  • Senate membership
  • Current (from January 20, 2021)
  • Begin (January 3, 2021 – January 18, 2021)
  • January 18, 2021 – January 20, 2021
  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)[lower-alpha 1] 46 2 51 99 1
January 18, 2021[lower-alpha 2] 45 98 2
January 20, 2021[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] 48 2 50 100 0
Latest voting share 50.0% 50.0%  

House of Representatives


  • House membership
  • Current (from January 15, 2021)
  • Begin (January 3, 2021 – January 15, 2021)
  Party
(shading shows control)
 Total Vacant
Democratic Independent Republican Other
End of previous Congress 233 1 195 1[lower-alpha 5] 430 5
Begin (January 3, 2021)[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7] 222 0 211 0 433 2
January 15, 2021[lower-alpha 8] 221 432 3
Latest voting share 51.2% 0.0% 48.8% 0.0%  
Non-voting members 3 1[lower-alpha 9] 2 0 6 0

Leadership

Note: Democrats refer to themselves as a "Caucus"; Republicans refer to themselves as a "Conference".

Senate
Senate President
Mike Pence (R),
until January 20, 2021
Kamala Harris (D),
from January 20, 2021
Senate President pro tempore
Chuck Grassley (R),
until January 20, 2021
Patrick Leahy (D),
from January 20, 2021

Presiding
Democratic leadership

(Minority until January 20, 2021, majority thereafter)

Republican leadership

(Majority until January 20, 2021, minority thereafter)

House of Representatives
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D)

Presiding
See also: 2021 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Members

Senate

The numbers refer to their Senate classes. All class 1 senators are in the middle of their term (2019–2025), having been elected in 2018 and facing re-election in 2024. Class 2 senators are at the beginning of their term (2021–2027), having been elected in 2020. Class 3 senators are at the end of their term (2017–2023), facing re-election in 2022.

House of Representatives

All 435 seats were filled by election in November 2020.

Further information: List of current members of the United States House of Representatives

Changes in membership

Senate
See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
State
(class)		 Vacator Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 12]
Georgia
(2)		 Vacant Republican David Perdue's term expired January 3, 2021, before a runoff election could be held.
Successor elected January 5, 2021.[lower-alpha 1]		 Jon Ossoff
(D)		 January 20, 2021
California
(3)		 Kamala Harris
(D)		 Incumbent resigned on January 18, 2021, to become U.S. Vice President.
Successor appointed January 20, 2021, to complete the term.[19]		 Alex Padilla
(D)		 January 20, 2021
Georgia
(3)		 Kelly Loeffler
(R)		 Interim appointee lost election to finish the term.
Successor elected January 5, 2021 for the remainder of the term that will end January 3, 2023.		 Raphael Warnock
(D)		 January 20, 2021

House of Representatives
See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
District Vacator Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 12]
Louisiana 5 Vacant Member-elect Luke Letlow (R) died December 29, 2020, before his term started.
A special election will be held March 20, 2021.[5]		 TBD TBD
New York 22 Vacant Anthony Brindisi's (D) term expired January 3, 2021, and the seat remained vacant while votes from the 2020 election until a ruling by a judge. On February 5, 2021, a judge declared a winner. Claudia Tenney (R) TBD
Louisiana 2 Cedric Richmond
(D)		 Resigned January 15, 2021, to become Senior Advisor to the President and director of the Office of Public Liaison.[20][21]
A special election will be held March 20, 2021.[20]		 TBD TBD
New Mexico 1 Deb Haaland
(D)		 Incumbent expected to resign to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior.[22]
A special election would then be held on a date TBD.[22]		 TBD TBD
Ohio 11 Marcia Fudge
(D)		 Incumbent expected to resign to become U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.[23]
A special election would then be held on May 4, 2021.[23]		 TBD TBD

Committees

Section contents: Senate, House, Joint

Senate
Main article: List of United States Senate committees

Prior to the passing of an organizing resolution on February 3, 2021, chairs of Senate committees remained the same as in the 116th Congress. Where the chair had retired (as in the Agriculture, Budget, and HELP committees), the chair was vacant.[24]

Committee Chair Ranking Member
Aging (Special) Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) Tim Scott (R-SC)
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) John Boozman (R-AR)
Appropriations Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Armed Services Jack Reed (D-RI) Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Budget Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Commerce, Science and Transportation Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Energy and Natural Resources Joe Manchin (D-WV) John Barrasso (R-WY)
Environment and Public Works Tom Carper (D-DE) Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
Ethics (Select) Chris Coons (D-DE) James Lankford (R-OK)
Finance Ron Wyden (D-OR) Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Foreign Relations Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Jim Risch (R-ID)
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Patty Murray (D-WA) Richard Burr (R-NC)
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Gary Peters (D-MI) Rob Portman (R-OH)
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) Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) John Cornyn (R-TX)
Judiciary Dick Durbin (D-IL) Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Rules and Administration Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Small Business and Entrepreneurship Ben Cardin (D-MD) Rand Paul (R-KY)
Veterans' Affairs Jon Tester (D-MT) Jerry Moran (R-KS)

House of Representatives
Main article: List of United States House of Representatives committees
Committee Chair Ranking Member
Agriculture David Scott (D-GA) Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
Appropriations Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) Kay Granger (R-TX)
Armed Services Adam Smith (D-WA) Mike Rogers (R-AL)
Budget John Yarmuth (D-KY) Jason Smith (R-MO)
Climate Crisis (Select) Kathy Castor (D-FL) Garret Graves (R-LA)
Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth (Select) TBD TBD
Education and Labor Bobby Scott (D-VA) Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Energy and Commerce Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
Ethics Ted Deutch (D-FL) Jackie Walorski (R-IN)
Financial Services Maxine Waters (D-CA) Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
Foreign Affairs Gregory Meeks (D-NY) Mike McCaul (R-TX)
Homeland Security Bennie Thompson (D-MS) John Katko (R-NY)
House Administration Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) Rodney Davis (R-IL)
Intelligence (Permanent Select) Adam Schiff (D-CA) Devin Nunes (R-CA)
Judiciary Jerry Nadler (D-NY) Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Modernization of Congress (Select) Derek Kilmer (D-WA) TBD
Natural Resources Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) Bruce Westerman (R-AR)
Oversight and Reform Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) Jim Comer (R-KY)
Rules Jim McGovern (D-MA) Tom Cole (R-OK)
Science, Space and Technology Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) Frank Lucas (R-OK)
Small Business Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) Sam Graves (R-MO)
Veterans' Affairs Mark Takano (D-CA) Mike Bost (R-IL)
Ways and Means Richard Neal (D-MA) Kevin Brady (R-TX)

Joint
Committee Chair Vice Chair Ranking Member Vice Ranking Member
Economic Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ)
Inaugural Ceremonies (Special)
until January 20, 2021		 Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Library Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL)
Printing Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Taxation[lower-alpha 13] Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX)

Officers and officials

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes
  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. 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.
  9. Caucuses with Democrats.
  10. The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party and its members are counted as Democrats.
  11. Miller-Meeks was conditionally seated with the rest of the 117th Congress, pending the challenge by her opponent Rita Hart.[18]
  12. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
  13. 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.

References
  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. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  7. Swanson, Ian (November 10, 2020). "Senate Democrats reelect Schumer as leader by acclamation". TheHill. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  8. Balluck, Kyle (November 10, 2020). "McConnell reelected as Senate GOP leader". TheHill. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  9. "Senate Leadership Elections | C-SPAN.org". c-span.org.
  10. Bolton, Alexander (January 10, 2021). "Republicans Wrestle over Removing Trump". The Hill. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  11. Treene, Alayna. "Nancy Pelosi re-elected as House Democratic leader". Axios.
  12. Balluck, Kyle (November 19, 2020). "House Democrats pick Aguilar as No. 6 leader in next Congress". TheHill. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  13. Ferris, Sarah; Mutnick, Ally (December 3, 2020). "Democrats elect Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney to lead campaign arm". POLITICO. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  14. Zanona, Melanie (November 20, 2020). "Huddle: Trump's cronies hold steady". POLITICO. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  15. McPherson, Lindsey (November 19, 2020). "House Democrats elect Aguilar, Allred in contested leadership elections". Roll Call. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  16. Clyburn, Jim. "Whip Clyburn Announces Chief Deputy Whips for 117th Congress". House Majority Whip. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  17. Bresnahan, John; Zanona, Melanie (November 17, 2020). "McCarthy heads into next Congress with eye on speaker's gavel". POLITICO. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  18. Barton, Tom (January 5, 2021). "'States select electors, Congress does not': Miller-Meeks to vote to accept Biden win". QCTimes.com. The Quad-City Times. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  19. Newsom, Gavin (January 18, 2021). "Proclamation and Writ of Election" (PDF). Executive Department, State of California. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  20. Murphy, Paul (November 16, 2020). "Cedric Richmond will be Senior Advisor to the President; to resign House seat before inauguration". WWL-TV. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  21. "Special Election - U.S. House of Representatives Second Congressional District" (PDF). State of Louisiana. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  22. Boyd, Dan; Boetel, Ryan. "Breaking: Haaland reportedly picked as Biden's interior secretary". www.abqjournal.com. Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  23. Nichola, Hans (December 8, 2020). "Biden to pick Vilsack for agriculture secretary, Fudge for HUD". Axios. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  24. Tully-McManus, Katherine (February 2, 2021). "Senate Democrats still without committee control as power-sharing talks drag on". Roll Call. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  25. "U.S. Senate: Office of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper". Senate.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  26. "Sergeant at Arms". House.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.