80th United States Congress

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox United States Congress The 80th 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, 1947, to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth years of 33rd President Harry S. Truman's administration (1945–1952). This congressional term featured the most recent special Senate sessions. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.

The Republicans won the majority in both chambers, marking the first time since the 71st Congress of 1929–1931, that they held full control of Congress, and the first time since the 72nd Congress of 1931–1933, that they held control of either of the two chambers. This also ended a 14-year Democratic overall federal government trifecta period, dating back to the 73rd Congress (1933–1935). This ties with the previous 14-year Republican trifecta from 1897 to 1911 as the longest trifectas of Congress and is the last time, (as of the year 2024), that a trifecta was achieved that lasted longer than a decade.

Although the 80th Congress passed a total of 906 public bills,[1] President Truman nicknamed it during his campaign speeches and remarks as the "Do Nothing Congress" and, during the 1948 elections, campaigned as much against it as against his formal opponent, Thomas E. Dewey of New York, the Republican presidential nominee. The 80th Congress did however pass several significant bills with bipartisan support, most famously the Truman Doctrine (on Greece-Turkey anti-communists aid in developing Cold War with former ally Soviet Union), the Marshall Plan (aid for devastated Europe after World War II), and the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 on labor relations (over Truman's veto), but it opposed most of Truman's Fair Deal domestic programs bills. Template:TOClimit

Major events

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Major legislation

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Constitutional amendments

Party summary

File:Bernard Braskamp.jpg
House Chaplain Bernard Braskamp delivering the opening prayer for the 80th Congress, 1947

Senate

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House of Representatives

From the beginning to the end of this Congress, there was no net change in party power. The Democrats lost one seat, which remained vacant until the next Congress.

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | style="background-color:Template:Party color" |
Republican Democratic American Labor Progressive Vacant
End of previous Congress 191 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | 236 1 1 429 6
Begin style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | 245 187 1 0 433 2
End style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | 242 186 2 430 5
Final voting share style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | 56.7% 43.1% 0.2% 0.0%
Beginning of the next Congress 171 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | 262 1 0 434 1

Leadership

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Senate

Majority (Republican) leadership

Minority (Democratic) leadership

House of Representatives

Majority (Republican) leadership

Minority (Democratic) leadership

Caucuses

Members

Senate

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, In this Congress, Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1948; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1950; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1952.

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File:80th US Congress House of Reps.png
Percentage of members from each party by state at the opening of the 80th Congress, ranging from dark blue (most Democratic) to dark red (most Republican).

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide at-large, are preceded by an "At-Large", and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.

The congressional district numbers are linked to articles describing the district itself. Since the boundaries of the districts have changed often and substantially, the linked article may only describe the district as it exists today, and not as it was at the time of this Congress.

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Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress

Senate

There were three deaths, two resignations, and one lost mid-term election. Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Template:Ordinal US Congress change

|- | Mississippi
(1) | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Theodore G. Bilbo (D) | Died August 21, 1947.
Successor was elected November 17, 1947. | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | John C. Stennis (D) | November 17, 1947

|- | Louisiana
(3) | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | John H. Overton (D) | Died May 14, 1948.
Successor was appointed to continue the term. | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | William C. Feazel (D) | May 18, 1948

|- | South Dakota
(2) | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Harlan J. Bushfield (R) | Died September 27, 1948.
Successor was appointed to finish the term. | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Vera C. Bushfield (R) | October 6, 1948

|- | South Dakota
(2) | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Vera C. Bushfield (R) | Interim appointee resigned December 26, 1948.
Successor was appointed to finish the term. | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Karl E. Mundt (R) | December 31, 1948

|- | Louisiana
(3) | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | William C. Feazel (D) | Interim appointee retired when successor elected.
Successor was elected December 31, 1948. | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Russell B. Long (D) | December 31, 1948

|- | North Carolina
(2) | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | William B. Umstead (D) | Interim appointee lost election to finish the term.
Successor was elected December 31, 1948. | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | J. Melville Broughton (D) | December 31, 1948

|}

House of Representatives

There were nine deaths and seven resignations.

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Template:Ordinal US Congress change |- | Template:Ushr | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | John Sparkman resigned in previous Congress after being elected to the US Senate having been re-elected as well. | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Robert E. Jones Jr. (D) | Seated January 28, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Representative Robert Kirkland Henry died during previous Congress having been previously re-elected. | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Glenn Robert Davis (R) | Seated April 22, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Fred B. Norman (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died April 18, 1947 | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Russell V. Mack (R) | Seated June 7, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Charles L. Gerlach (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died May 5, 1947 | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Franklin H. Lichtenwalter (R) | Seated September 9, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 16, 1947, after being elected Mayor of Baltimore | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Edward Garmatz (D) | Seated July 15, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Frederick Van Ness Bradley (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died May 24, 1947 | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Charles E. Potter (R) | Seated August 26, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Joseph J. Mansfield (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died July 12, 1947 | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Clark W. Thompson (D) | Seated August 23, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | R. Ewing Thomason (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 31, 1947, after being appointed as a judge of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Kenneth M. Regan (D) | Seated August 23, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Charles L. Gifford (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died August 23, 1947 | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Donald W. Nicholson (R) | Seated November 18, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Raymond S. Springer (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died August 28, 1947 | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Ralph Harvey (R) | Seated November 4, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Robert Franklin Jones (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 2, 1947, to become a member of the Federal Communications Commission | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | William Moore McCulloch (R) | Seated November 4, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Leo F. Rayfiel (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 13, 1947, having been appointed a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Abraham J. Multer (D) | Seated November 4, 1947 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | George Evan Howell (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned October 5, 1947, after being appointed judge of the US Court of Claims | colspan=2 | Vacant until next Congress |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Patrick H. Drewry (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 21, 1947 | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Watkins Moorman Abbitt (D) | Seated February 17, 1948 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Benjamin J. Rabin (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 31, 1947 | Template:Party shading/Independent | Leo Isacson (AL) | Seated February 17, 1948 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Earle Clements (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 6, 1948, to become Governor of Kentucky | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | John A. Whitaker (D) | Seated April 17, 1948 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | John M. Robsion (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died February 17, 1948 | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | William Lewis (R) | Seated April 24, 1948 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Orville Zimmerman (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died April 7, 1948 | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Paul C. Jones (D) | Seated November 2, 1948 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | J. Lindsay Almond (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned April 17, 1948, having been elected attorney General of Virginia | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Clarence G. Burton (D) | Seated November 2, 1948 |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Thomas L. Owens (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died June 7, 1948 | colspan=2 | Vacant until next Congress |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Noble J. Johnson (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 1, 1948, after being appointed as judge of US Court of Customs & Patent Appeals | colspan=2 | Vacant until next Congress |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Milton H. West (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died October 28, 1948 | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | Lloyd Bentsen (D) | Seated December 4, 1948 |- | Template:Ushr | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | John J. Delaney (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died November 18, 1948 | colspan=2 | Vacant until next Congress |- | Template:Ushr | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Karl E. Mundt (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 30, 1948, after being appointed to the U.S. Senate having already been elected. | colspan=2 | Vacant until next Congress |}

Committees

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Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Explanatory notes

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Citations

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External links

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