Jan 27, 2025 Story by: Editor
The 119th U.S. Congress stands as the most racially and ethnically diverse in history, with 26% of voting members identifying as a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White. This marks the eighth consecutive Congress to break the diversity record set by its predecessor.
According to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from CQ Roll Call and the Congressional Research Service, 139 members of the current Congress identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian American, or Native American. This represents a significant increase from the 109th Congress (2005-07), which included only 73 members from these racial or ethnic minorities. The analysis is based on the 533 voting members of the 119th Congress as of January 3, 2025, the first day of the new session. Note that Hispanic lawmakers exclude at least three members who identify as Portuguese American.
Of the minority lawmakers in the 119th Congress, a substantial 84% are Democrats, while 16% are Republicans. This represents a slightly wider gap than in the previous Congress, where 80% were Democrats and 20% were Republicans.
The House of Representatives
In the House, 28% of members are from racial or ethnic minorities, consistent with the previous Congress. However, there are currently no Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander voting members. Among the 119th House members, five are multiracial Democrats:
- Florida Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, New York Reps. Ritchie Torres and Adriano Espaillat identify as Black and Hispanic.
- Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott and Washington Rep. Marilyn Strickland are Black and Asian. Scott is the first Filipino-descent lawmaker in Congress, and Strickland is the first Black lawmaker from Washington and one of the first Korean American women elected to Congress.
In total, 85% of minority representatives in the House are Democrats, while 15% are Republicans. The partisan split in the chamber is roughly 50-50.
The House also sees a decrease in the number of newly elected racial or ethnic minority members, with 16 this session (15 Democrats and one Republican), compared to 27 in the previous Congress.
In addition to voting members, there are six non-voting delegates representing U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. These delegates include two Black, two Asian/Pacific Islander, one Hispanic, and one who identifies as both Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander.
The Senate
In the Senate, the number of racial or ethnic minority senators has risen from 12 in the 118th Congress to 16 in the 119th. These include seven Hispanic, five Black, three Asian, and one Native American senator.
For the first time in history, two Black women will serve in the Senate simultaneously: Democrats Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, both of whom are the first Black senators from their states.
Among the racial or ethnic minority senators, three-quarters (12 of 16) are Democrats. The remaining four Republicans are:
- Tim Scott of South Carolina, the longest-serving Black senator in history.
- Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, both of whom are Hispanic.
- Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, a member of the Cherokee Nation, became the first Native American senator since Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado retired in 2005.
Racial and Ethnic Representation Compared to the U.S. Population
Despite this growing diversity in Congress, non-Hispanic White Americans continue to make up a larger share of Congress (74%) compared to the overall U.S. population (58%). This gap remains similar to the situation in 1981, when 94% of congressional members were White, compared to 80% of the U.S. population.
Within the House, the representation of some racial and ethnic groups is now on par with their share of the national population. For example, 14% of House members are Black, matching the Black population’s share in the U.S. Native Americans and Alaska Natives now represent approximately 1% of both the House and the national population. However, there are no Alaska Natives serving in Congress.
On the other hand, Hispanic representation in Congress is significantly lower than their share of the U.S. population (11% in Congress vs. 20% nationally), and Asian Americans make up 4% of the House compared to 6% of the U.S. population. Source: Pew Research Center
