House Democratic Caucus | |
|---|---|
| Part of | United States House of Representatives |
| Floor Leader | Hakeem Jeffries |
| Floor Whip | Katherine Clark |
| Chair | Pete Aguilar (CA) |
| Ideology | Liberalism |
| Political position | Center-left |
| Affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Seats | 213 / 435 |
| Website | |
| dems | |
| This article is part ofa series on the |
| United States House of Representatives |
|---|
| History of the House |
| Members |
| Congressional districts |
| Politics and procedure |
| Places |
TheHouse Democratic Caucus is acongressional caucus composed of all Democratic representatives in theUnited States House of Representatives, voting andnon-voting,[1] and is responsible for nominating and electing theDemocratic Party leadership in the chamber. In its roles as aparty conference, thecaucus writes and enforces rules of conduct and discipline for its members, approves committee assignments, and serves as the primary forum for development of party policy and legislative priorities. It hosts weekly meetings for these purposes and to communicate the party's message to members.
When the caucus holds the majority of seats, it is usually led by thespeaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who is assisted on the floor by the House majority leader and the party's chief whip. When in the minority, it is led by the House minority leader, assisted by the chief whip. The caucus has aCaucus chairman andCaucus vice-chair (formerly called the secretary). For the119th Congress,Hakeem Jeffries was elected as theminority leader,Katherine Clark became theminority whip andPete Aguilar was chosen as theCaucus chairman.
Effective with the start of the119th Congress, the chain of command conference leadership is as follows (from highest to lowest):
The House Democratic Caucus, through its institutional antecedent, theDemocratic-Republican caucus, was established on April 2, 1796, to stop a treaty with Great Britain which unfairly treated American sailors. For many years, through 1820, it nominated presidential candidates (before the era of national nominating conventions).
Since 2023, the House Democratic leader has been Rep.Hakeem Jeffries of New York (the firstAfrican-American congressional party leader in U.S. history).[2] He waselected to succeed longtime Democratic leader and the first womanspeaker of the House in U.S. historyNancy Pelosi.
At the Organizational Meeting on November 18, 2008, of the Democratic Caucus for the111th Congress, RepresentativeJohn B. Larson (D-Connecticut) was elected Caucus chairman by acclamation. The election was presided over by the outgoing chairman of the Democratic Caucus for the110th Congress, former representativeRahm Emanuel (D-Illinois). Rep. Larson officially assumed the position of chairman on the first day of the 111th Congress, January 3, 2009.
After his election as chairman at the Organizational Meeting on November 18, Chairman Larson presided over the election of Rep.Xavier Becerra (D-California), who defeated RepresentativeMarcy Kaptur ofOhio by a vote count of 175 to 67. Rep. Becerra likewise assumed hisvice-chairmanship on January 3.
| Congress | Leader | District | Took office | Left office | House Speaker | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20th | Andrew Stevenson (1784–1857) | Virginia 9 | December 3, 1827 | June 2, 1834[a] | Himself1827–1834 | ||
| 21st | |||||||
| 22nd | |||||||
| 23rd | Virginia 11 | ||||||
| 23rd | John Bell (1796–1869) | Tennessee 7 | June 2, 1834 | March 4, 1835 | Himself1834–1835 | ||
| 24th | James K. Polk (1795–1849) | Tennessee 9 | December 7, 1835 | March 4, 1839 | Himself1835–1839 | ||
| 25th | |||||||
| 26th | Unknown[b] | Hunter1839–1841 | |||||
| 27th | Unknown[b] | White1841–1843 | |||||
| 28th | John Winston Jones (1791–1848) | Virginia 6 | December 4, 1843 | March 4, 1845 | Himself1843–1845 | ||
| 29th | John Wesley Davis (1799–1859) | Indiana 6 | December 1, 1845 | March 4, 1847 | Himself1845–1847 | ||
| 30th | Unknown[b] | Winthrop1847–1849 | |||||
| 31st | Howell Cobb (1815–1868) | Georgia 6 | December 22, 1849 | March 4, 1851 | Himself1849–1851 | ||
| 32nd | Linn Boyd (1800–1859) | Kentucky 1 | December 1, 1851 | March 4, 1855 | Himself1851–1855 | ||
| 33rd | |||||||
| 34th | George Washington Jones (1806–1884) | Tennessee 6 | March 4, 1855 | March 4, 1857 | Banks1856–1857 | ||
| 35th | James Lawrence Orr (1822–1873) | South Carolina 5 | December 7, 1857 | March 3, 1859 | Himself1857–1859 | ||
| 36th | George S. Houston (1811–1879) | Alabama 5 | March 4, 1859 | January 21, 1861[c] | Pennington1860–1861 | ||
| 37th | Unknown[d] | Grow1861–1863 | |||||
| 38th | Unknown[d] | Colfax1863–1869 | |||||
| 39th | Unknown[d] | ||||||
| 40th | Unknown[d] | ||||||
| 40th | Pomeroy1869 | ||||||
| 41st | Samuel J. Randall (1828–1890) | Pennsylvania 1 | March 4, 1869 | March 3, 1871 | Blaine1869–1875 | ||
| William E. Niblack (1822–1893) | Indiana 1 | ||||||
| 42nd | Unknown[b] | ||||||
| 43rd | William E. Niblack (1822–1893) | Indiana 1 | March 4, 1873 | March 3, 1875 | |||
| 44th | Michael C. Kerr (1827–1876) | Indiana 3 | December 6, 1875 | August 19, 1876[e] | Himself1875–1876 | ||
| 44th | Samuel J. Randall (1828–1890) | Pennsylvania 3 | December 4, 1876 | March 3, 1881 | Himself1876–1881 | ||
| 45th | |||||||
| 46th | |||||||
| 47th | Unknown[b] | Keifer1881–1883 | |||||
| 48th | John G. Carlisle (1834–1910) | Kentucky 6 | December 3, 1883 | March 3, 1889 | Himself1883–1889 | ||
| 49th | |||||||
| 50th | |||||||
| 51st | William S. Holman (1822–1897) | Indiana 4 | March 4, 1889 | March 3, 1891 | Reed1889–1891 | ||
| 52nd | Charles Frederick Crisp (1845–1896) | Georgia 3 | December 8, 1891 | March 3, 1895 | Himself1891–1895 | ||
| 53rd | |||||||
| 54th | David B. Culberson (1830–1900) | Texas 4 | March 4, 1895 | March 3, 1897 | Reed1895–1899 | ||
| 55th | James D. Richardson (1843–1914) | Tennessee 5 | March 4, 1897 | March 3, 1903 | |||
| 56th | Henderson1899–1903 | ||||||
| 57th | |||||||
| 58th | John Sharp Williams (1854–1932) | Mississippi 8 | March 4, 1903 | March 3, 1909 | Cannon1903–1911 | ||
| 59th | |||||||
| 60th | |||||||
| 61st | Champ Clark (1850–1921) | Missouri 9 | March 4, 1909 | March 2, 1921[e] | |||
| 62nd | Himself1911–1919 | ||||||
| 63rd | |||||||
| 64th | |||||||
| 65th | |||||||
| 66th | Gillett1919–1925 | ||||||
| 67th | Claude Kitchin (1869–1923) | North Carolina 2 | March 4, 1921 | March 4, 1923 | |||
| 68th | Finis J. Garrett (1875–1956) | Tennessee 9 | March 4, 1923 | March 3, 1929 | |||
| 69th | Longworth1925–1931 | ||||||
| 70th | |||||||
| 71st | John Nance Garner (1868–1967) | Texas 15 | March 4, 1929 | March 3, 1933[f] | |||
| 72nd | Himself1931–1933 | ||||||
| 73rd | Henry Thomas Rainey (1860–1934) | Illinois 20 | March 9, 1933 | August 19, 1934[e] | Himself1933–1934 | ||
| 74th | Jo Byrns (1869–1936) | Tennessee 5 | January 3, 1935 | June 4, 1936[e] | Himself1935–1936 | ||
| 74th | William B. Bankhead (1874–1940) | Alabama 7 | June 4, 1936 | September 15, 1940[e] | Himself1936–1940 | ||
| 75th | |||||||
| 76th | |||||||
| 76th | Sam Rayburn (1882–1961) | Texas 4 | September 16, 1940 | November 16, 1961[e] | Himself1940–1947 | ||
| 77th | |||||||
| 78th | |||||||
| 79th | |||||||
| 80th | Martin1947–1949 | ||||||
| 81st | Himself1949–1953 | ||||||
| 82nd | |||||||
| 83rd | Martin1953–1955 | ||||||
| 84th | Himself1955–1961 | ||||||
| 85th | |||||||
| 86th | |||||||
| 87th | |||||||
| 87th | John W. McCormack (1891–1980) | Massachusetts 12 | January 10, 1962 | January 3, 1971 | Himself1962–1971 | ||
| 88th | Massachusetts 9 | ||||||
| 89th | |||||||
| 90th | |||||||
| 91st | |||||||
| 92nd | Carl Albert (1908–2000) | Oklahoma 3 | January 21, 1971 | January 3, 1977 | Himself1971–1977 | ||
| 93rd | |||||||
| 94th | |||||||
| 95th | Tip O'Neill (1912–1994) | Massachusetts 8 | January 4, 1977 | January 3, 1987 | Himself1977–1987 | ||
| 96th | |||||||
| 97th | |||||||
| 98th | |||||||
| 99th | |||||||
| 100th | Jim Wright (1922–2015) | Texas 12 | January 6, 1987 | June 6, 1989[a] | Himself1987–1989 | ||
| 101st | |||||||
| 101st | Tom Foley (1929–2013) | Washington 5 | June 6, 1989 | January 3, 1995 | Himself1989–1995 | ||
| 102nd | |||||||
| 103rd | |||||||
| 104th | Dick Gephardt (born 1941) | Missouri 3 | January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2003 | Gingrich1995–1999 | ||
| 105th | |||||||
| 106th | Hastert1999–2007 | ||||||
| 107th | |||||||
| 108th | Nancy Pelosi (born 1940) | California 8 | January 3, 2003 | January 3, 2023 | |||
| 109th | |||||||
| 110th | Herself2007–2011 | ||||||
| 111th | |||||||
| 112th | Boehner2011–2015 | ||||||
| 113th | California 12 | ||||||
| 114th | |||||||
| Ryan2015–2019 | |||||||
| 115th | |||||||
| 116th | Herself2019–2023 | ||||||
| 117th | |||||||
| 118th | Hakeem Jeffries (born 1970) | New York 8 | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | McCarthy2023 | ||
| McHenry[g]2023 | |||||||
| Johnson2023–present | |||||||
| 119th | |||||||
Chairs are currently limited to two consecutive terms.
The vice-chair of the Democratic Caucus ranks just below theChair of the House Democratic Caucus. In addition to other duties, the vice-chair has a seat on theSteering and Policy Committee.[17]
The office of secretary of the Democratic Caucus preceded the office of vice-chair. Until its elimination in 1987, the office of secretary was reserved for a female member of the House.[20]
Rule 1. Caucus Membership A. All Members of the House of Representatives, the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, and the Delegates from American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands who are Members of the Democratic Party shall be prima facie Members of the Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)