Immigrants and children of immigrants account for at least 15% of the 118th Congress. At least 81 voting members of Congress are foreign born or have at least one parent who was born in another country. There are currently 18 foreign-born voting members of Congress, 17 in the House and one in the Senate.
Most immigrants or children of immigrants in 118th Congress trace roots to Central America, Europe, or Asia. [PEW 2/28/23]
Approval of the Congress is up roughly 4.6 points from where it was a year ago and disapproval is down 2.6 points.
| Approve | Disapprove | |
|---|---|---|
| Real Clear Pol. 3/28/23 | 26.4% | 65.2% |
| Real Clear Pol. 2/14/22 | 24.4% | 65.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 12/19/22 | 27.6% | 62.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 11/23/22 | 23.8% | 62.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 10/13/22 | 25.3% | 65.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 8/30/22 | 20.6% | 67.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 8/2/22 | 19.6% | 71.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 6/15/22 | 21.2% | 69.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 5/17/22 | 22.4% | 68.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 4/16/22 | 22.2% | 67.5% |
| Real Clear Pol. 3/15/22 | 21.8% | 67.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 2/18/22 | 20.8% | 68.3% |
| Real Clear Pol. 1/17/22 | 22.4% | 66.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 12/21/21 | 23.0% | 65.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 11/30/21 | 22.2% | 68.6% |
Has the time come to increase the number of members of the House of Representatives?
George Washington, in speaking to the constitutional convention, endorsed a Congress of 30,000 residents per congressional district.
In 1790 each congressional district had 34,000 residents on average.
Today, each House member represents 762,000 residents. That number is on track to reach 874,000 residents by 2040 and 1,000,000 by 2050.
The first argument is made that representatives are now too removed from their constituents. Constituent services are strained.
Secondly, a greater number of House members would make for more important legislative oversight of the executive branch.
Third, the smaller the district the less expensive the campaigns.
Finally, a bigger House with smaller districts would enhance equal protection and inclusivity.
The House of Representatives
Washington Watch uses the report by David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report for its report on elections in the U.S. House of Representatives. (One seat is open.)
| Solid Republican | 192 | Solid Democrat | 174 |
| Likely GOP | 11 | Likely Dem | 16 |
| Lean GOP | 9 | Lean Dem | 12 |
| GOP Tossup | 9 | Dem Tossup | 11 |
| Total | 221 | Total | 213 |
The Republican party in the House is a combination of “five families” who share power under the leadership of new House Speak Kevin McCarthy.
The Leadership Group
- Kevin McCarthy – Speaker
- Steve Scalise – Majority Leader
- Tom Emmer – Majority Whip
- Gary Palmer – Policy Committee Chair
- Elise Stefanik – Conference Chair
- Garret Graves – Elected Leadership Committee Chair
- Problem Solvers Caucus – 29 members
- Republican Governance Group – 42 members
- Main Street Caucus – 67 members
- Republican Study Committee – 173 members
- Freedom Caucus – 34 members
The Senate
- Republicans – 49
- Democrats – 48
- Independents – 3
The 2024 Senate Election
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the longest serving Republican Leader, has been ill and not working in his office in the Capital.
There has been no change in the Senate lists since the last issue of the Watch, March 4th.
**Feinstein is not running for reelection and has been sick.
| Democrats | Republicans | Independents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seats not up in 2024 | 28 | 39 | 0 |
| Seats up in 2024 | 20 | 10 | 2 |
| Safe in 2024 | Feinstein** | IN-Open | |
| Murphy | Hawley | ||
| Carper | Wicker | ||
| Hirono | Cramer | ||
| Warren | Fischer | ||
| Cardin | Ricketts | ||
| King (I) | Blackburn | ||
| Klobuchar | Cruz | ||
| Menendez | Barrasso | ||
| Heinrich | Romney | ||
| Gillibrand | Barrasso | ||
| Whitehouse | |||
| Kaine | |||
| Sanders (I) | |||
| Cantwell | |||
| Likely | 0 | 1 | |
| Scott | |||
| Lean | 5 | ||
| MI-Open | |||
| Tester | |||
| Rosen | |||
| Casey | |||
| Baldwin | |||
| Toss Up | 3 | ||
| Sinema (I) | |||
| OH – B | |||
| Manchin |