115th United States Congress
 |
118th • 117th • 116th • 115th • 114th • 113th • 112th • 111th • 110th |
The 115th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
New members were elected on November 8, 2016. The 115th Congress convened on January 3, 2017, and concluded on January 3, 2019.
Leadership
Senate
| Position | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| President of the Senate | Mike Pence |  Republican
|
| Senate Majority Leadership | ||
| President pro tempore | Orrin Hatch | Republican
|
| Senate Majority Leader | Mitch McConnell | Republican
|
| Senate Majority Whip | John Cornyn | Republican
|
| Senate Minority Leadership | ||
| Senate Minority Leader | Chuck Schumer |  Democratic
|
| Senate Minority Whip | Dick Durbin | Democratic
|
House of Representatives
| Position | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the House | Paul Ryan | Republican
|
| House Majority Leadership | ||
| House Majority Leader | Kevin McCarthy | Republican
|
| House Majority Whip | Steve Scalise | Republican
|
| House Minority Leadership | ||
| House Minority Leader | Nancy Pelosi | Democratic
|
| House Minority Whip | Steny Hoyer | Democratic
|
Members
Issues |
Partisan balance
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2018 | After the 2018 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 47 | 45 | |
| Republican Party | 51 | 53 | |
| Independent | 2 | 2 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
| U.S. House Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2018 | After the 2018 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 193 | 235 | |
| Republican Party | 235 | 200[1] | |
| Vacancies | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 435 | 435 | |
Special elections
Special elections made up the bulk of Ballotpedia's congressional election coverage in 2017. Special elections to Congress occur when a legislator resigns or is removed from office. Depending on the specific state laws governing vacancies, a state can either hold an election within the same calendar year, or wait until the next regularly scheduled election. Since 2016 was a presidential year, there were expected to be more special elections than normal for members of Congress chosen for Cabinet positions.
Expected special elections
The table below displays a running list of the confirmed special elections to the 115th United States Congress.
The table below lists special elections to the 115th United States Congress.
On the issues
Throughout the course of the 115th Congress, we curated statements and reactions by members of Congress on a variety of different policy areas and topics. Click on a tile below to read about what members of the 115th Congress said about the following issues.
Key votes
- See also: Key votes: 115th Congress, 2017-2018
Members of the 115th United States Congress introduced 13,556 pieces of legislation, and 867 of those received a vote. Ballotpedia identified 79 of those votes as key votes—votes that helped citizens understand where their legislators stood on major policy issues.[4]
Congressional committees
U.S. Senate
Congressional committees (Senate)
U.S. House
Congressional committees (House)
Joint committees
Congressional committees (Joint)
Confirmation process
The 115th Congress was tasked with confirming President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees. Before a presidential Cabinet nominee could be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he or she was required to pass several rounds of investigation and review, beginning with the submission of a personal financial disclosure report and a background check. The nominee was then evaluated in a committee hearing, which allowed for a close examination of the nominee and his or her views on public policy. Supporters and opponents of the nominee were also able to testify.[5] Following the closing of committee hearings, most committees had a set amount of time before a vote was taken on whether the nominee was reported to the Senate favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation.[5]
Analysis
Salary
As of 2025, members of Congress are paid $174,000 per year. Senate majority and minority leaders, as well as the president pro tempore, receive $193,400. The Speaker of the House receives $223,500.[6]
Some historical facts about the salary of United States Congress members:
- In 1789, members of the Congress received $6 per diem.[6]
- In 1874, members of the Congress earned $5,000 per year.[6]
- In 1990, members of the Congress earned $98,400 per year.[6]
- From 2000-2006, the salary of a member of the United States Congress increased every year, going from $141,300 to $165,200 in that time span.[6]
Demographics
The 115th Congress surpassed the 114th Congress as the most diverse Congress in the nation's history.
There were three black, four Hispanic, and three Asian senators. There were also 21 women and one openly LGBTQ member of the Senate. Overall, 26 percent of the Senate was made up of women or minorities, and the remaining 74 percent was white men. There were 94 racial or ethnic minorities in the House and 83 women, as well as six openly LGBTQ members. Overall, 34 percent of the House was made up of women or minorities, and the remaining 66 percent was white men.[7]
Over 90 percent of Congress identified as Christians, while roughly six percent of members were Jewish. There were also three Buddhists, three Hindus, two Muslims, and one Unitarian Universalist. Only one member of Congress, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-9), described herself as unaffiliated with any religion.[8]
See also
- United States Congress elections, 2016
- United States Senate elections, 2016
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
- 114th United States Congress
- United States Congress
- United States Senate
- United States House of Representatives
Footnotes
- ↑ One undecided 2018 race was decided in September 2019 when Dan Bishop (R) won the special election. The state board of elections called a new election following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in the 2018 race. Unofficial returns from the 2018 election showed Mark Harris (R) leading McCready, who was also the Democratic candidate in 2018, by 905 votes. Harris said he did not run again in 2019 due to health issues. Click here for more information on the aftermath of the 2018 election.
- ↑ While technically a general election, the April 18 election was functionally a top-two primary because no candidate received the 50 percent of the vote required to win the race outright.
- ↑ June 20, 2017, runoff election between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff.
- ↑ GovTrack, "Statistics and Historical Comparison," accessed March 12, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 CRS Report for Congress, "Senate Confirmation Process: An Overview," accessed July 24, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 U.S. Senate, "Salaries," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑ Daily KOS, "Check out our comprehensive 115th Congress guide, with election data, demographics, and member stats," January 3, 2017
- ↑ U.S. News, "The 115th Congress by Party, Race, Gender and Religion," January 5, 2017
| |||||||||||||
