Congress

While the 115th Congress was more legislatively active than its recent predecessors, the proportion of substantive to ceremonial legislation was much the same.

The 69 immigrants and children of immigrants in the 116th Congress claim heritage in 38 countries and are overwhelmingly Democrats.

No matter who they blamed for previous government shutdowns or how much they felt personally affected by them, most Americans have had negative opinions about them.

Many federal workers live and work far from D.C., with substantial numbers in districts scattered across the country – and represented by both Democratic and GOP members of Congress.

The new Congress is slightly more religiously diverse than its predecessor, but it remains overwhelmingly Christian.

The new, 116th Congress includes the first two Muslim women ever to serve in the House of Representatives, and is, overall, slightly more religiously diverse than the prior Congress.

Among GOP House incumbents who lost their re-election campaigns, 23 of 30 were more moderate than the median Republican in the chamber.

The 2018 midterm elections significantly boosted the number of Millennials and Generation Xers in the lower chamber.

The public is generally positive about the outcome of last week’s midterm elections. Yet most Americans think that neither Democratic congressional leaders nor Donald Trump will be successful in getting their policies passed into law during the next two years.

Three-quarters of Republicans say they are optimistic about the future of the Republican Party. Democrats have a similarly bright outlook for their party.