115th United States Congress
The 115th United States Congress was the 2017-2019 session of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The 115th Congress convened on January 3, 2017, and concluded on January 3, 2019. New members were elected on November 8, 2016.
President Donald Trump (R) issued no vetoes during the 115th Congress. For more information on vetoes issued during the Trump administration, click here.
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 | |
Wave elections (1918-2016)
- See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)
The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?
Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.
Applying this definition to four different election groups (U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governorships, and state legislatures) yields specific numbers of seats that Republicans needed to lose for 2018 to qualify as a wave election. Those are:
- 48 U.S. House seats,
- Seven U.S. Senate seats,
- Seven gubernatorial seats, or
- 494 state legislative seats.
The midterm election results in 2018 met those levels in one category, as Democrats gained seven governorships. In congressional elections, Democrats had a net gain of 40 U.S. House seats while Republicans actually gained a net total of two U.S. Senate seats. Democrats gained a net 309 state legislative seats.
Click here to read the full report.
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. In a presidential election year, such as 2016, it is normal for more special elections to take place for members of Congress chosen for Cabinet positions.
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)
Supreme Court vacancy
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he was assuming senior status on the court on June 27, 2018. President Trump followed by nominating Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy on July 9, 2018. The Senate voted 50-48-1 to confirm Kavanaugh as the 114th associate justice of the Supreme Court on October 6, 2018. Click here for more coverage.
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
Switching chambers
At the beginning of the 115th Congress, 50 of the 100 members of the U.S. Senate had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives. This included 27 of 52 Senate Republicans, 22 of 46 Senate Democrats, and one of the two independents who caucused with the Democrats.
Salary
Members of Congress were paid $174,000 per year. Senate majority and minority leaders, as well as the president pro tempore, received $193,400. The speaker of the House received $223,500.[6]
Some historical facts about the salary of United States Congress members:
- In 1789, members of Congress received a $6 per diem.[6]
- In 1874, members of Congress earned $5,000 per year.[6]
- In 1990, members of 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. 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
- Results of U.S. House elections in presidential election years, 1920-2020
- 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
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