Congress Commences 118th Session

On January 7, 2023, newly elected and re-elected lawmakers were sworn into office in Washington, DC. The 118th Congress welcomes 82 new lawmakers, including 75 in the U.S. House of Representatives and 7 in the U.S. Senate.

While Democrats retained control of the Senate, Republicans took control of the House for the 118^th Congress. In the House, Democrats lost 9 seats in the November general election, allowing Republicans to take claim the majority with a total of 222 seats verses Democrats who secured 213 seats. This outcome yields notable leadership changes that include a new Speaker of the House, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20). A new Minority Leader was also elected, Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8), and is the first Black lawmaker to lead a major political party in Congress.

The elections also resulted in numerous changes to congressional committee assignments and leaders. Notably, the House Ways and Means Committee will now be chaired by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO-08) and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will be chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). A complete list of relevant committees and its leaders are available here. In the 118th Congress, there will be 19 physicians, including 4 Senators and 15 Representatives.

Detailed congressional profiles are available below for further review.

Freshman Lawmaker Profiles

Congressional Overview