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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Publications
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How removing unauthorized immigrants from census statistics could affect House reapportionment
If unauthorized U.S. immigrants aren’t counted, 3 states could each lose a seat they otherwise would have had and 3 others each could gain one.
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Posts mentioning ‘Black lives matter’ spiked on lawmakers’ social media accounts after George Floyd killing
236 members (45%) of the 116th Congress have mentioned “Black lives matter” on Facebook or Twitter dating back as far as Jan. 1, 2015.
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For Global Legislators on Twitter, an Engaged Minority Creates Outsize Share of Content
Although most national officials use the platform, their posts receive only a small number of likes and retweets.
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Tweets by members of Congress tell the story of an escalating COVID-19 crisis
More than half of all tweets sent by members of the U.S. Congress between March 11 and 21 were related to the coronavirus outbreak.
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Nine months before Election Day, three dozen House members heading for the exits
So far, 28 representatives have announced they’re retiring; four other Republicans and three Democrats are running for other offices instead.
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Americans’ perceptions about unethical behavior shape how they think about people in powerful roles
The more confident people are that members of powerful groups behave unethically, the less likely they are to have confidence in that group’s performance.
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For the fifth time in a row, the new Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse ever
More than one-in-five voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities.
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In 116th Congress, at least 13% of lawmakers are immigrants or the children of immigrants
The 69 immigrants and children of immigrants in the 116th Congress claim heritage in 38 countries and are overwhelmingly Democrats.
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Americans view this shutdown much as they did past ones – negatively and with much anxiety
No matter who they blamed for previous government shutdowns or how much they felt personally affected by them, most Americans have had negative opinions about them.
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5 facts about the religious makeup of the 116th Congress
The new Congress is slightly more religiously diverse than its predecessor, but it remains overwhelmingly Christian.
