This is a list of Buddhist members of the United States Congress.
As of 2023[update], only three Buddhists have ever been elected to Congress, the first being both Mazie Hirono and Hank Johnson in 2007. One Buddhist currently serves in the House of Representatives and one Buddhist serves in the Senate.
| Senator | Party | State | Term | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Length of service (days) | ||||||
|
Mazie Hirono | Democratic | Hawaii | January 3, 2013 | Incumbent | 4,208 (11 years, 191 days) |
First Buddhist senator[1][2] | |
| Representative | Party | District | Term | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Length of service (days) | ||||||
|
Mazie Hirono | Democratic | HI-02 | January 3, 2007 | January 3, 2013 | 2,192 (6 years, 0 days) |
One of the first two Buddhists in Congress. Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from Hawaii.[1][2] | |
|
Hank Johnson | Democratic | GA-04 | January 3, 2007 | Incumbent | 6,400 (17 years, 191 days) |
One of the first two Buddhists in Congress[3] | |
|
Colleen Hanabusa | Democratic | HI-01 | January 3, 2011 | January 3, 2015 | 1,461 (4 years, 0 days) |
Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Hawaii.[4] | |
| November 14, 2016 | January 3, 2019 | 779 (2 years, 50 days) |
Elected in special election to succeed Mark Takai, who died in office Retired to run unsuccessfully for governor of Hawaii | |||||
The number of Buddhists in Congress fell from three to two, as Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, lost her bid for a Senate seat.
