117th United States Congress

The 117th United States Congress was the 117th legislative cycle for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It started on January 3, 2021, as a result of the 2020 United States Senate elections, 2020 United States House of Representatives elections and the 2020 United States presidential election. The 117th Congress ended on January 3, 2023, while the 118th United States Congress began that same day. The Democratic Party controlled the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate there are 50 Democratic senators and 50 Republican senators. Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris only votes when it is a tie. She votes for the Democrats. In the House of Representatives, the Democrats have 221 people and the Republicans have 211.

Party breakdown

Senate

Senate membership Current (from January 20, 2021) Begin (January 3, 2021 – January 18, 2021) January 18, 2021 – January 20, 2021

	Party (shading shows control)			Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Independent (caucusing with Democrats)	Republican
End of previous Congress	46	2	52	100	0
Begin (January 3, 2021)[lower-alpha 1]	46	2	51	99	1
January 18, 2021[lower-alpha 2]	45			98	2
January 20, 2021[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]	48	2	50	100	0
Latest voting share	50.0%		50.0%

House of Representatives

House membership Current (from January 15, 2021) Begin (January 3, 2021 – January 15, 2021)

	Party (shading shows control)				Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Independent	Republican	Other
End of previous Congress	233	1	195	1[lower-alpha 5]	430	5
Begin (January 3, 2021)[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7]	222	0	211	0	433	2
January 15, 2021[lower-alpha 8]	221				432	3
Latest voting share	51.2%	0.0%	48.8%	0.0%
Non-voting members	3	1	2	0	6	0

Leadership

Senate

President of the Senate

President of the Senate Kamala Harris

The President of the Senate is Kamala Harris. (D)

Senate President Pro Tempore

The President Pro Tempore of the Senate is Patrick Leahy. (D)

Senate Majority Leader

The Senate Majority Leader is Chuck Schumer.^[7] (D)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Minority Leader

The Senate Minority Leader is Mitch McConnell. (R)

Senate Majority Whip

The Senate Majority Whip is Dick Durbin. (D)

Senate Minority Whip

The Senate Minority Whip is John Thune. (R)

House

Speaker

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi. (D)

Majority Leader

The House Majority Leader is Steny Hoyer. (D)

Minority Leader

The House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthy. (R)

Majority Whip

Majority Whip Jim Clyburn

The House Majority Whip is Jim Clyburn.

Minority Whip

The House Minority Whip is Steve Scalise. (R)

Notes

1. The Congress began with 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats (including 2 independents who caucus with the Democrats) and 1 vacancy in the Senate. Georgia's class 2 seat was vacant from the start until Democrat Jon Ossoff was seated January 20, 2021. Georgia's class 3 Republican interim appointee Kelly Loeffler served until Democrat Raphael Warnock was seated January 20, 2021.^[1]
2. In California: Kamala Harris (D) resigned January 18, 2021, to become U.S. Vice President.
   Alex Padilla (D) was appointed to complete the unexpired term and began serving January 20, 2021.^[2]
3. In Georgia: Kelly Loeffler (R) lost a special election to finish the term.
   Jon Ossoff (D) and Raphael Warnock (D) began their service January 20, 2021.^[3][4]
4. Kamala Harris (D) became U.S. Vice President January 20, 2021, with the tie-breaking vote.
5. There was 1 Libertarian at the end of the previous Congress.
6. In Louisiana's 5th district: member elect Luke Letlow (R) died December 29, 2020, before the term started.^[5]
7. In New York's 22nd district: the term began with the previous election disputed.^[6]
8. In Louisiana's 2nd district: Cedric Richmond (D) resigned January 15, 2021, to serve in the Biden administration.

References

1. Werner, Erica; Gardner, Amy (January 19, 2021). "Georgia certifies Ossoff and Warnock victories, paving way for Democratic control of Senate". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
2. Janes, Chelsea. "Kamala Harris resigns her Senate seat". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
3. Bluestein, Greg; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Georgia U.S. Senate results certified; Ossoff and Warnock set to take office Wednesday". ajc. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
4. "Kamala Harris to swear in Alex Padilla to Senate after inauguration". SFChronicle.com. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
5. Hilburn, Greg (December 30, 2020). "Here's how the late Luke Letlow's congressional seat will be filled following his COVID death". The News-Star. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
6. "NY-22 house seat to become vacant Jan. 3 with court case continuing into 2021". WBNG.com. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
7. Swanson, Ian (November 10, 2020). "Senate Democrats reelect Schumer as leader by acclamation". TheHill. Retrieved November 10, 2020.