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How Old is the 119th Congress?

by Adam Stone, FiscalNote

Looking for the age of the members of the 119th Congress? Get FiscalNote's report on the age of Congress, including the oldest, youngest, and interesting finds from the data.

119th Congress

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As the members of the 119th Congress took office in January 2025, we found that Congress is making important strides toward a more diverse representation among its members. With the aid of CQ and FiscalNote’s data, we took a closer look at these trends in our annual Demographics of the 119th Congress report. The report shows the race, age, sex, alma mater, prior occupation, military service, marital status, and birthplace of each member of Congress, as well as trends and changes over time.

Read on for more details on the age of Congress, and download our 119th Congress demographics report for the full scoop.

What is the Average Age of Congress?

The average age of the 119th Congress is 58 years old, the same as the previous Congress. 

Of its 435 members, the House of Representatives has more than a quarter in their 50’s — and only one in their 20’s. 

The age group with the biggest gain compared to the 118th Congress for Republicans was 70-79, while the 60-69 group saw the biggest losses. For Democrats, the 50-59 age bracket had the biggest gain, adding eight new members in that age group. Like the Republicans, the 60-69 age group saw the biggest losses.  

For government affairs professionals, information on the 119th Congress' age is significant. You need to know who is on the receiving end of your messaging to communicate your issues effectively. It matters how you address the members of Congress. 

119th Congress Demographics: The People That Make Up Our Legislative Branch

A deep dive into the demographics of the members of Congress in 2025 and 2026.

Who are the Youngest Members of Congress?

The first Gen Z congressional leader from either political party, Florida’s Maxwell Frost (D), will serve as lead Democrat on the Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, tasked with raising wages, lowering costs, and promoting solutions to the housing crisis. 

Young Republicans in the 119th include Addison McDowell (N.C.), Brandon Gill (Texas), Abraham Hamadeh (Ariz.), Rob Bresnahan (Pa.), Anna Luna (Fla.) and Max Miller (Ohio). 

In addition to Frost, the young Democratic roster includes Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.), Sarah McBride (Del.), Greg Casar (Texas), and Sara Jacobs (Calif.), along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), who remains a prominent progressive voice.

This being the third-oldest Congress in U.S. history, it’s clear the arrival of Gen Z won’t immediately undo the institution’s longstanding geriatric tendencies. However, the fact remains that we see younger faces on Capitol Hill.

As a government affairs professional, you will want to take note of the change and start to think about evolving your strategy in order to address the younger lawmakers who are now looking to make their mark in Washington.

“Whether it’s the economy, climate change, or racial profiling and how you deal with the police — these numbers may have different views,” says Michael Minta, a professor of political science and director of graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Who are the Oldest Members of Congress?

At the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice, 73, became the oldest “freshman” to be sworn in.

Coming into the 119th Congress at 91 years old, Senator Chuck Grassley is the oldest and longest-serving member of the Senate. He is the longest-serving Republican in Congressional history. Grassley, who hails from Iowa, was first elected in 1980 and has been reelected seven times. Over the last 44 years, he has chaired various committees, including the Senate Finance, Senate Judiciary, Senate Narcotics, and Senate Aging committees.

How Does Age Relate to Party?

Overall, Democrats are slightly older than their Republican counterparts in Congress. Breaking down the data by party, age metrics reveal Republicans averaging 58 years and Democrats 59

The 2025 State of Government Affairs

A look at the top trends in the government affairs industry and what you need to be prepared for in 2025.

How to Connect with Members of the 119th Congress

By definition, the youngest members of Congress will be “more in tune with the issues as they relate to people in their generation,” says LaShonda Brenson, senior researcher at the non-profit Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. 

She points, for instance, to the “hysteria around the recent TikTok ban.” If your organization has a horse in that race, it will be important to have strong ties to the youngest legislators, who will likely be more attuned to the issue. 

Rather than “negating them because of their youth,” Brenson says, government affairs professionals need to be listening to these young lawmakers, in order to understand their concerns. 

“They may bring a unique experience. There may be differences in terms of these young people's vote and what issues they might prioritize. They can provide a different perspective versus their older counterparts in Congress,” she says.

By definition, these younger people will have had less work experience. Thus, “if you’re going to build a message that assumes they already know about the work world: Maybe they don’t,” says Cristina Antelo, principal at Ferox Strategies.

“Going in with a message point that talks about running a business and what that means — that may not be as convincing to them,” Antelo says. “You need to figure out what motivates them, what experiences you can get to” in order to make a meaningful connection.

You’ll likely also need to pay closer attention to social media if you aren’t already. Government affairs is a communication business, and you’ll need to get a handle on the nuanced communication styles of the younger members. 

“When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first arrived on Capitol Hill, she was a social media darling. She understood that better than a lot of the older folks, and she communicated directly not only with her constituents but with a whole fan base that went outside of her constituency,” Antelo says.

In the past, you might have tracked a member’s comments in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times in order to gauge their sentiments. To make inroads with a social-media-savvy member of Congress, you should “at least do a survey of what’s on her social media” to discover “which arguments she is interested in,” Antelo says.

As a general rule, “leveraging social media is going to be crucial in terms of building connections with younger of Congress,” Brenson says. It’s one of many ways in which government affairs strategies may need to shift to build ties with the youngest lawmakers.

Leverage Technology to Build & Manage Relationships with Congress

FiscalNote can help you put these demographic insights to work with government relations software that allows professionals to build relationships with members of the 119th Congress. Identifying constituents of members with similar biographies lets you make stronger personal connections and build relationships with specific legislators or groups of legislators.

PolicyNote’s stakeholder and people datasets, as well as CQ’s immense full member bios that include contracts, grants, and companies in their district/state, as well as average interest group ratings, lets you take things to the next level when building a report on the likely members most aligned with your issues.

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