| 80th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
79th ← → 81st | |
 United States Capitol (1956) | |
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | |
| Members | 96 senators 435 representatives 3 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican |
| Senate President | Vacant[a] |
| House majority | Republican |
| House Speaker | Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: January 3, 1947 – December 19, 1947 Special[b]: November 17, 1947 – December 19, 1947 2nd: January 6, 1948 – December 31, 1948 Special[c]: July 26, 1948 – August 7, 1948 | |
The 80th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth years of 33rd President Harry S. Truman's administration (1945–1952). This congressional term featured the most recent special Senate sessions. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.
The Republicans won the majority in both chambers, marking the first time since the 71st Congress of 1929–1931, that they held full control of Congress, and the first time since the 72nd Congress of 1931–1933, that they held control of either of the two chambers. This also ended a 14-year Democratic overall federal government trifecta period, dating back to the 73rd Congress (1933–1935). This ties with the previous 14-year Republican trifecta from 1897 to 1911 as the longest trifectas of Congress and is the last time, (as of the year 2024), that a trifecta was achieved that lasted longer than a decade.
Although the 80th Congress passed a total of 906 public bills,[1] President Truman nicknamed it during his campaign speeches and remarks as the "Do Nothing Congress" and, during the 1948 elections, campaigned as much against it as against his formal opponent, Thomas E. Dewey of New York. the Republican presidential nominee. The 80th Congress did however pass several significant bills with bipartisan support, most famously the Truman Doctrine (on Greece-Turkey anti-communists aid in developing Cold War with former ally Soviet Union), the Marshall Plan (aid for devastated Europe after World War II), and the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 on labor relations (over Truman's veto), but it opposed most of Truman's Fair Deal domestic programs bills.
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- ^ "Résumé of Congressional Activity Eightieth Congress" (PDF). United States Senate.