Chair of the House Democratic Caucus

The following is a list of members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have served as chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Chairs are currently limited to two consecutive terms. Nowadays, this position is seen as highly powerful and they usually go on to high ranking positions within the party.

Officeholder State Congress Term
James Thompson Pennsylvania 31st 1849–1851
N/A[1] 32nd 1851–1853
Edson B. Olds Ohio 33rd 1853–1855
George Washington Jones Tennessee 34th 1855–1857
N/A[2] 35th 1857–1859
George S. Houston Alabama 36th 1859–1861
N/A[3] 37th–40th 1861–1869
William E. Niblack,
Samuel J. Randall[4]		 Indiana,
Pennsylvania		 41st 1869–1871
N/A[5] 42nd 1871–1873
William E. Niblack Indiana 43rd 1873–1875
Lucius Q.C. Lamar Mississippi 44th 1875–1877
Hiester Clymer Pennsylvania 45th 1877–1879
John F. House Tennessee 46th 1879–1881
N/A[6] 47th 1881–1883
George W. Geddes Ohio 48th 1883–1885
J. Randolph Tucker Virginia 49th 1885–1887
Samuel S. Cox[7] New York 50th 1887–1889
William S. Holman Indiana 51st–53rd 1889–1895
David B. Culberson Texas 54th 1895–1897
James D. Richardson Tennessee 55th 1897–1899
James Hay Virginia 56th–58th 1899–1905
Robert L. Henry Texas 59th 1905–1907
Henry D. Clayton[8] Alabama 60th–61st 1907–1911
Albert S. Burleson Texas 62nd 1911–1913
A. Mitchell Palmer Pennsylvania 63rd 1913–1915
Edward W. Saunders Virginia 64th–65th 1915–1919
Arthur G. DeWalt Pennsylvania 66th 1919–1921
Sam Rayburn Texas 67th 1921–1923
Henry T. Rainey Illinois 68th 1923–1925
Charles D. Carter Oklahoma 69th 1925–1927
Arthur H. Greenwood Indiana 70th 1927–1929
David H. Kincheloe Kentucky 71st 1929–1930[9]
William W. Arnold Illinois 72nd 1931–1933
Clarence F. Lea California 73rd 1933–1935
Edward T. Taylor Colorado 74th 1935–1937
Robert L. Doughton North Carolina 75th 1937–1939
John W. McCormack Massachusetts 76th 1939–1940[10]
Richard M. Duncan Missouri 77th 1941–1943
Harry R. Sheppard California 78th 1943–1945
Jere Cooper Tennessee 79th 1945–1947
Aime J. Forand Rhode Island 80th 1947–1949
Francis E. Walter Pennsylvania 81st 1949–1951
Jere Cooper Tennessee 82nd 1951–1953
Wilbur D. Mills Arkansas 83rd 1953–1955
John J. Rooney New York 84th 1955–1957
Melvin Price Illinois 85th–86th 1957–1961
Francis E. Walter[11] Pennsylvania 87th–88th 1961–1963
Albert Thomas Texas 88th 1964–1965
Eugene Keogh New York 89th 1965–1967
Dan Rostenkowski Illinois 90th–91st 1967–1971
Olin Teague Texas 92nd–93rd 1971–1975
Phillip Burton California 94th 1976–1977
Thomas S. Foley Washington 95th–96th 1977–1981
Gillis W. Long Louisiana 97th–98th 1981–1985
Richard A. Gephardt Missouri 99th–100th 1985–1989
William H. Gray III Pennsylvania 101st 1989
Steny H. Hoyer Maryland 101st–103rd 1989–1995[12]
Vic Fazio California 104th–105th 1995–1999
Martin Frost Texas 106th–107th 1999–2003
Bob Menendez New Jersey 108th–109th 2003–2006[13]
James Clyburn South Carolina 109th 2006–2007
Rahm Emanuel Illinois 110th 2007–2009
John B. Larson Connecticut 111th–112th 2009–2013
Xavier Becerra California 113th–114th 2013–2017
Joe Crowley New York 115th 2017–2019
Hakeem Jeffries New York 116th-117th 2019–present[14]

Notes
  1. No clear records remain for this Congress.
  2. No clear records remain for this Congress.
  3. No clear records remain for these Congresses.
  4. Caucus records show Representative Niblack and Representative Randall as both having served as chairman during the Congress, but no dates of service were specified.
  5. Representative Fernando Wood of New York nominated the Democratic leadership slate in the House, but there is no other evidence to show he was elected caucus chairman.
  6. Available data show that Representative John F. House nominated Samuel J. Randall as the Democratic candidate for Speaker, the traditional role of the caucus chairman. Later data show W.S. Rosecrans issuing the next call for a Democratic Caucus meeting, but there is no evidence to suggest that Rosecrans was actually elected caucus chairman.
  7. Former Parliamentarian Clarence Cannon's notes state "Cox died during this Congress and [Representative James B.] McCreary evidently succeeded or acted for him." However, Representative Cox died on September 10, 1889, six months after the sine die adjournment of the 50th Congress and the convening of the 51st Congress.
  8. Caucus records are contradictory for this period. They show the election of Representative James Hay as chairman on January 19, 1911, but do not mention a resignation by incumbent chairman Clayton, nor do they specify that Hay was elected chairman for the new Congress. Later, they show the election of Representative Albert S. Burleson on April 11, 1911.
  9. Resigned from the House, October 5, 1930; there is no record of an election to fill the vacancy as caucus chair.
  10. Resigned following election as majority (floor) leader, September 16, 1940; records do not indicate that a successor was chosen during the remainder of the Congress.
  11. Died in office, May 31, 1963. Caucus chairman post vacant until January 21, 1964.
  12. Representative Hoyer was elected Caucus Chairman on June 21, 1989, following the June 14, 1989, election of Representative William (Bill) H. Gray III as Majority Whip.
  13. On January 16, 2006, Representative Menendez resigned from the House after he was appointed to the Senate.
  14. "Hakeem Jeffries defeats Barbara Lee in battle for Dem Caucus chair". Politico. 2018-11-28.

Sources
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.