The changing face of Congress in 7 charts
The 119th Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse in history, and it includes the nation’s first openly transgender legislator at the federal level.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Congress
119th Congress brings firsts for women of color
In the Senate, two Black women are serving concurrently for the first time. And in the House, two states and one U.S. territory elected their first Black, Hispanic or Pacific Islander woman lawmaker.
Faith on the Hill
Christians will make up 87% of voting members in the Senate and House of Representatives, combined, in the 2025-27 congressional session.
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Majority of states have all-Christian congressional delegations
The vast majority of the nation’s federal lawmakers (91%) describe themselves as Christians, compared with 71% of U.S. adults who say the same.
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Despite gains, women remain underrepresented among U.S. political and business leaders
One hundred years after Jeannette Rankin became the first female member of the U.S. Congress, women remain underrepresented in political and business leadership.
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Public remains divided over role of government in financial regulation
As Donald Trump and congressional Republicans take steps to roll back Obama-era financial regulations, the public remains divided over whether regulations of financial institutions have gone too far or not gone far enough.
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Q&A with Solomon Messing of Pew Research Center’s Data Labs
A conversation with the director of the Center’s Data Labs team on their new report on congressional communications and the uses and misuses of “big data.”
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Faith on the Hill
The share of U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christians has been declining for decades, but the U.S. Congress is about as Christian today as it was in the early 1960s.
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Will Trump’s backing revive moribund term-limits movement?
Although the movement to limit congressional terms has been largely dormant for the past two decades, 15 states do limit how many terms their own legislators can serve.
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Majority of Public Wants Senate to Act on Obama’s Court Nominee
Survey Report In the high-stakes battle over replacing Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, a majority of Americans (56%) say the Senate should hold hearings and vote on President Obama’s choice to fill the vacancy. About four-in-ten (38%) say the Senate should not hold hearings until the next president selects a court nominee. Most […]
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In 21 states, local newspapers lack a dedicated D.C. reporter covering Congress
Between 2009 and 2014, the number of Washington-based reporters for local newspapers accredited by the Senate to cover Congress declined by 11%.
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Congress’ productivity improves somewhat in 2015
Congress passed 113 laws, 87 of them substantive, in 2015, making it the most productive first session since 2009.
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Freedom Caucus districts look much like other GOP-held districts
The attitudes of Republicans living in House Freedom Caucus members’ districts look very similar to those in other Republican-represented districts.
