# Which party controls Congress?

*The Senate lists Republicans as its majority party with 53 seats, and the House Clerk counts 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, 1 independent and 2 vacancies.*

- Type: Explainer
- Section: Politics
- By: Politics Desk
- Published: 2026-11-11T23:08:30-05:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T00:16:43-05:00
- URL: https://factsdesk.com/politics/which-party-controls-congress/

Topics: [U.S. Congress](https://factsdesk.com/topic/us-congress/)

## Key facts

- Republicans control both chambers of the 119th Congress: they hold 53 of the 100 Senate seats and 218 House seats, against 214 for Democrats. Source: [Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives](https://clerk.house.gov/Members). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:07:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/politics/which-party-controls-congress/#republicans-control-both-chambers-of-the-119th-congress-they
- The Senate lists Republicans as the majority party with 53 seats, Democrats as the minority party with 45 seats, and 2 independents. Source: [U.S. Senate](https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:07:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/politics/which-party-controls-congress/#the-senate-lists-republicans-as-the-majority-party-with-53
- The Clerk of the House counts 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, 1 independent and 2 vacancies in the House of Representatives. Source: [Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives](https://clerk.house.gov/Members). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:07:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/politics/which-party-controls-congress/#the-clerk-of-the-house-counts-218-republicans-214-democrats
- Sen. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, is Senate Majority Leader. Source: [U.S. Senate](https://www.senate.gov/senators/leadership.htm). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:07:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/politics/which-party-controls-congress/#sen-john-thune-a-republican-from-south-dakota-is-senate
- The Senate dates the 119th Congress from January 3, 2025, to January 3, 2027. Source: [U.S. Senate](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/party-division.htm). Confirmed 2026-11-11T23:08:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/politics/which-party-controls-congress/#the-senate-dates-the-119th-congress-from-january-3-2025-to

Republicans control both chambers of the 119th Congress, the Congress now in office. The [Clerk of the House](https://clerk.house.gov/Members) counts 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats in the House of Representatives, and the [Senate](https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm) lists Republicans as its majority party with 53 of 100 seats.

## The current party split

| Chamber | Republicans | Democrats |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Senate | 53 | 45 |
| House | 218 | 214 |

The Senate also has 2 independents, which the [Senate's list of senators](https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm) places under "Other Parties." The Senate's [party division table](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/party-division.htm) shows no vacancies.

The House also has 1 independent and 2 vacancies, according to the [Clerk of the House](https://clerk.house.gov/Members). Those figures add up to 433 seated members and the 435 seats in the chamber. The [House Press Gallery](https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown) shows the same count and ties the 2 vacancies to two resignations: Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, on April 14, 2026, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat from Florida, on April 21, 2026.

## Who leads each chamber

For a deadline now before Congress, see [whether the government will shut down on December 11](/politics/will-the-government-shut-down-on-december-11/).

| Chamber | Post | Holder |
| --- | --- | --- |
| House | Speaker | Mike Johnson (R) |
| House | Majority Leader | Steve Scalise (R) |
| House | Minority Leader | Hakeem S. Jeffries (D) |
| Senate | Majority Leader | John Thune (R-SD) |
| Senate | Democratic Leader | Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) |

The House posts are listed by the [Clerk of the House](https://clerk.house.gov/Members), and the Senate posts are on the Senate's [leadership page](https://www.senate.gov/senators/leadership.htm). That page also lists Vice President J.D. Vance and the President Pro Tempore, Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, as the Senate's constitutionally mandated officers.

## How the House numbers changed since the election

The House Historian's [party divisions table](https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/) records the 119th Congress as 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats. The Historian's office said those figures are "the House party divisions as of the initial election results for a particular Congress," so they leave out later deaths, resignations, special elections and changes in a member's party. The Clerk's count of 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, 1 independent and 2 vacancies is the current one.

The Senate's [party division table](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/party-division.htm) shows the same split for both sessions of the 119th Congress: 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and 2 independents.

## When the 119th Congress ends

The Senate dates the [119th Congress](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/party-division.htm) from January 3, 2025, to January 3, 2027. House Republicans have chosen their leaders for the next Congress. The Speaker's office [said on November 10, 2026](https://www.speaker.gov/2026/11/10/speaker-johnson-congratulates-new-house-gop-leadership-team/), that House Republicans elected Rep. Jim Jordan "to serve as Minority Leader" in the 120th Congress. The terms of the new Congress [begin at noon on January 3, 2027](/politics/when-does-the-new-congress-start/).

The official pages cited here give party counts for the 119th Congress only. This page will be updated at this address when the House and Senate publish the party division of the next Congress.

## Sources

1. [Member Information, 119th Congress, 2nd Session](https://clerk.house.gov/Members), Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, 2026-11-11 (primary source)
2. [Senators, 119th Congress](https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm), U.S. Senate, 2026-11-11 (primary source)
3. [Party Division](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/party-division.htm), U.S. Senate, 2026-11-11 (primary source)
4. [Leadership and Officers](https://www.senate.gov/senators/leadership.htm), U.S. Senate, 2026-11-11 (primary source)
5. [Party Breakdown, 119th Congress](https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown), House Press Gallery, 2026-11-11 (primary source)
6. [Party Divisions of the House of Representatives, 1789 to Present](https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/), History, Art and Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, 2026-11-11 (primary source)
7. [Speaker Johnson Congratulates New House GOP Leadership Team](https://www.speaker.gov/2026/11/10/speaker-johnson-congratulates-new-house-gop-leadership-team/), Office of the Speaker of the House, 2026-11-10 (primary source)