How the United States Congress is Organized

The Congress: Facts & Figures

1. What is the current population of the United States? Th current population of the U.S. is about 339,665,118 people (U.S. people, 2023). How many seats are there in the House of Representatives? In 2022, there was a total of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives (Wahlberg, 2023).

2. What is the current population of California? How many seats does California have in the House of Representatives? At present, California has 52 seats in the House of Representatives (Christopher, 2021) and a population of about 39.24 million people.

3. What is the current population of North Carolina? How many seats does North Carolina have in the House of Representatives? The current population of North Carolina is about 10.55 million people (Google) and the state has 120 seats in the House of Representatives (North Carolina House of Representatives, 2023).

4. What is the population of Wyoming? Which states have only one representative in the House?

The population of Wyoming is about 578,803 people with 62 seats in the House of Representatives (Wyoming House of Representatives, 2023).

5. What is the partisan alignment (how many Democrats vs. Republicans) of California's delegation to the House? California has 52 representatives, 40 Democrats and 12 Republicans (United States congressional delegations from California, 2023). What is the partisan alignment of North Carolina's delegation to the House? At present, North Carolina has seven each Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives (Lopez, 2023).

6. Who represents the 13th district of North Carolina in the House? Representative Wiley Nickel represents North Carolina’s 13th district (North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, 2023).

7. What territories have delegates to the House? How is Washington, DC represented in the House? The House of Representatives has five delegates representing the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, however, a resident commissioner is responsible for representing Puerto Rico’s interests (Directory of Representatives, 2023).

8. Which party controls the House? What number of seats does each party have? Republicans control the House at present with a razor-thin majority (e.g., 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats (Party breakdown, 2023), and the GOP expects to lose a member in the foreseeable future due to expulsion (e.g., Santos).

9. Who is the current Speaker of the House? What district in what state does that person represent? The current Speaker of the House is Mike Johnson who represents the 4th Congressional District in Louisiana (Hilburn, 2023).

10. Who is the current Minority Leader in the House? What district in what state does that person represent? The House Minority Leader is Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) representing New York’s 8th congressional district (Meet Hakeen Jeffries, 2023).

11. How many Representatives in the House are female? Of them, how many are Democrats? How many are Republican? There are currently 128 females Representatives, 55 Democratic Representatives, 20 Republican Representatives, and 53 Representatives from other parties or independents (Leppert & Desilver, 2023).

12. In 2022 how many Senate seats were up for election? Which party currently controls the Senate? What number of seats does each party have? In 2022, 35 seats in the Senate (e.g., 14 held by Democrats and 21 held by Republicans) were up for election (United States Senate Elections, 2023). At present, the Senate has a Democratic majority. The partisan breakdown of the Senate at present is 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 2 Independents (who caucus with the Democrats); however, Democrats still enjoy the majority as a result of the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris (Party Division, 2023).

13. Which states currently have a Senator from each party? Which states are represented by independents? At present, five states (e.g., Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin) have a Senator from each party, but none were identified as having an independent Senator (Desilver, 2021).

14. Who is the current majority leader of the Senate? What state does that person represent? Who is the current minority leader of the Senate? What state does that person represent? Democrat Charles Schumer from New York is the current majority leader and is Mitch McConnell from Kentucky.

15. How many Senators are female? Which states currently have 2 female Senators? At present, there are 25 female Senators (e.g., 15 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and one Independent); however, no state is represented exclusively by females in the Senate (Women Senators, 2023).

16. Who are the Senators from North Carolina? What elected position did each one hold most recently before their election to the Senate? Ted Budd, a previous gun shop owner (Sen. Ted Budd biography, 2023) and Thom Tillis, previous NC state speaker of the house (Official biography, 2023) are North Carolina’s current Senators.

17. Name the former female Senators from North Carolina. Name any former African-American Senators elected by the voters of North Carolina. There were no former female Senators identified from North Carolina (Women Senators, 2023) nor were there any African-American senators from North Carolina found (African-American Senators, 2023).

18. In the 11 states of the former Confederacy, how many of the current 22 Senators are Democrats? How many are Republican? How many are female? How many are white (race)? Of the 11 former Confederate states (e.g., Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia), four senators are Democrats, three are female and 21 white Senators (Tim Scott from South Carolina is the sole African-American senator (African American Senators, 2023).

References

African-American Senators. (2023). U.S. Senate. Retrieved from https://www.senate. gov/senators/african-american-senators.htm.

Christopher, B. (2021, May 6). California loses congressional seat for first time. Cal Matters. Retrieved from https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/04/california-congress-census/.

Desilver, D. (2021, February 11). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/02/11/u-s-senate-has-fewest-split-delegations-since-direct-elections-began/.

Directory of Representatives. (2023). U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved from https://www.house.gov/representatives#:~:text=Currently%2C%20there%20are%20five%20delegates,resident%20commissioner%20represents%20Puerto%20Rico.

Hilburn, G. (2023, October 25). Shreveport Times. Retrieved from https://www.shreveport times.com/story/news/2023/10/25/who-is-louisiana-congressman-mike-johnson-the-next-likely-house-speaker/71314664007/.

Leppert, R., & Desilver, D. (2023, January 3). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/03/118th-congress-has-a-record-number-of-women/.