| 85th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
84th ← → 86th | |
United States Capitol (1956)
| |
January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1959 | |
| Members | 96 senators 435 representatives |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | Richard Nixon (R) |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | Sam Rayburn (D) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: January 3, 1957 – August 30, 1957 2nd: January 7, 1958 – August 24, 1958 | |
The 85th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1957, to January 3, 1959, during the fifth and sixth years of Dwight Eisenhower's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1950 United States census.
Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
To date, this is the earliest Congress with a member still living, Merwin Coad.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Republican (R) | |||
| End of previous congress | 47 | 49 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 49 | 47 | 96 | 0 |
| End | 50 | 45 | 95 | 1 |
| Final voting share | 52.6% | 47.4% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 64 | 34 | 98 | 0 |
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Republican (R) | |||
| End of previous congress | 228 | 200 | 428 | 7 |
| Begin | 233 | 200 | 433 | 2 |
| End | 232 | 193 | 425 | 10 |
| Final voting share | 54.6% | 45.4% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 282 | 153 | 435 | 0 |
Senators are popularly elected statewide every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. Senators in each state are listed by class. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1958; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1960; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1962.
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (3) |
Vacant | Retired. Successor elected in 1956, but took seat late to prevent Governor from appointing a rival to be his successor as N.Y. Attorney General |
Jacob Javits (R) | January 9, 1957 |
| Texas (1) |
Price Daniel (D) | Resigned January 14, 1957, after being elected Governor of Texas. Successor appointed January 15, 1957. |
William A. Blakley (D) | January 15, 1957 |
| Texas (1) |
William A. Blakley (D) | Interim appointee retired when successor elected. Successor elected April 28, 1957. |
Ralph Yarborough (D) | April 29, 1957 |
| Wisconsin (1) |
Joseph McCarthy (R) | Died May 2, 1957. Successor elected August 27, 1957. |
William Proxmire (D) | August 28, 1957 |
| West Virginia (2) |
Matthew M. Neely (D) | Died January 18, 1958. Successor appointed January 25, 1958. |
John D. Hoblitzell Jr. (R) | January 25, 1958 |
| North Carolina (2) |
W. Kerr Scott (D) | Died April 16, 1958. Successor appointed April 19, 1958, and then elected November 4, 1958. |
B. Everett Jordan (D) | April 19, 1958 |
| West Virginia (2) |
John D. Hoblitzell Jr. (R) | Interim appointee lost special election. Successor elected November 4, 1958. |
Jennings Randolph (D) | November 5, 1958 |
| California (1) |
William F. Knowland (R) | Resigned early January 2, 1959. | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico at-large | Vacant | Rep. Antonio M. Fernández died during previous congress. | Joseph Montoya (D) | April 9, 1957 |
| New Jersey 2 | Vacant | Rep. T. Millet Hand died during previous congress. | Milton W. Glenn (R) | November 5, 1957 |
| Illinois 7 | James Bowler (D) | Died July 18, 1957. | Roland V. Libonati (D) | December 31, 1957 |
| Pennsylvania 13 | Samuel K. McConnell Jr. (R) | Resigned September 1, 1957, after becoming Executive Director of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations | John A. Lafore Jr. (R) | November 5, 1957 |
| Georgia 7 | Henderson L. Lanham (D) | Died November 10, 1957. | Harlan E. Mitchell (D) | January 8, 1958 |
| Pennsylvania 21 | Augustine B. Kelley (D) | Died November 20, 1957. | John H. Dent (D) | January 21, 1958 |
| New York 37 | W. Sterling Cole (R) | Resigned December 1, 1957, after becoming Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. | Howard W. Robison (R) | January 14, 1958 |
| Tennessee 8 | Jere Cooper (D) | Died December 18, 1957. | Fats Everett (D) | February 1, 1958 |
| Pennsylvania 4 | Earl Chudoff (D) | Resigned January 5, 1958, after being elected judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas No. 1. | Robert N.C. Nix Sr. (D) | May 20, 1958 |
| New Jersey 14 | Vincent J. Dellay (R) | Changed political affiliation some time in 1958. | Vincent J. Dellay (D) | ????, 1958 |
| Illinois 14 | Russell W. Keeney (R) | Died January 11, 1958. | Vacant | Not filled this term. |
| Minnesota 1 | August H. Andresen (R) | Died January 14, 1958. | Al Quie (R) | February 18, 1958 |
| Wisconsin 1 | Lawrence H. Smith (R) | Died January 22, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| New Mexico at-large | John J. Dempsey (D) | Died March 11, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| Louisiana 8 | George S. Long (D) | Died March 22, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| Illinois 4 | William E. McVey (R) | Died August 10, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| Pennsylvania 28 | Herman P. Eberharter (D) | Died September 9, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| Ohio 17 | J. Harry McGregor (R) | Died October 7, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| Illinois 20 | Sid Simpson (R) | Died October 26, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| Massachusetts 13 | Richard B. Wigglesworth (R) | Resigned November 13, 1958. | Not filled this term. | |
| New York 4 | Henry J. Latham (R) | Resigned December 31, 1958, after becoming a judge of the New York Supreme Court. | Not filled this term. | |
Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.
Senate[edit]
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House of Representatives[edit]
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United States congresses (and year convened)
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