116th United States Congress

116th United States Congress
115th ←
→ 117th

January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021
Members100 senators
435 representatives
6 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityRepublican
Senate PresidentMike Pence (R)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerNancy Pelosi (D)
Sessions
1st: January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2020
2nd: January 3, 2020 – January 3, 2021
116th U.S. Congress House of Representatives member pin

The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021, during the final two years of Donald Trump's first presidency. Senators elected to regular terms in 2014 finished their terms in this Congress, and House seats were apportioned based on the 2010 census.

In the November 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party won a new majority in the House, while the Republican Party increased its majority in the Senate. Consequently, this was the first split Congress since the 113th Congress of 2013–2015, and the first Republican Senate–Democratic House split since the 99th Congress of 1985–1987. This Congress was the youngest incoming class by mean age, compared to the previous three the incoming class of freshman representatives,[1] and the most demographically diverse in history.

Upon joining the Libertarian Party on May 1, 2020,[2] Justin Amash became the first member of Congress to represent a political party other than the Democrats or the Republicans since Rep. William Carney, who served as a Conservative before switching to the Republican Party in 1985. Before joining the Libertarian Party, Amash had been serving as an independent since his departure from the Republican Party on July 4, 2019.[3] Paul Mitchell also left the Republicans in December 2020, becoming an independent.[4] Neither incumbent ran for re-election.

  1. ^ Jin, Beatrice (January 7, 2019) [First published November 23, 2018]. "Congress's incoming class is younger, bluer, and more diverse than ever". Politico. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AmashLibertarian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Welch, Matt (April 29, 2020). "Justin Amash Becomes the First Libertarian Member of Congress". Reason. Reason Foundation. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Tapper, Jake (December 14, 2020). "Congressman cites Trump's efforts to overturn election in announcing decision to quit GOP". CNN. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.