As of January 2025,[update] 37 members of the LGBTQ community are known to have held office in the United States Congress. In the House, 33 LGBTQ people held office; in the Senate, 4 held office. Two people, Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema, served in the House and were later elected into the Senate. The earliest known LGBTQ congressperson was Ed Koch, who began his term in the House in 1969. The earliest known LGBTQ senator is Harris Wofford, who began his term in 1991. Both men were not out during their tenure: Koch's sexuality was confirmed after his death and Wofford announced his plans to marry a man over 20 years after serving in the Senate. In 2024, Sarah McBride was elected as the nation's first openly transgender member of Congress.
One incumbent senator and 12 congresspeople are LGBT: Senator Tammy Baldwin, Mark Pocan, Mark Takano, Angie Craig, Sharice Davids, Chris Pappas, Ritchie Torres, Becca Balint, Robert Garcia, Eric Sorensen, Julie Johnson, Sarah McBride, and Emily Randall
There are[update] 13 openly LGBTQ members of the current (119th) Congress, all of whom are Democrats. One is a senator and the rest are House representatives. This equals the record highest number of LGBTQ congresspeople serving at the same time in U.S. history, and the 12 openly LGBTQ representatives form the highest number of simultaneously-serving openly LGBTQ members in the history of the House of Representatives.
Senate
† Came out after serving Incumbent (currently serving)
| Senator | Party | State | Term | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Length of service | ||||||
| Harris Wofford† | Democratic | Pennsylvania | May 8, 1991 | Jan 3, 1995 | 3 years, 240 days | Announced his marriage to a man in 2016. | ||
| Tammy Baldwin | Democratic | Wisconsin | Jan 3, 2013 | Incumbent | 13 years, 40 days | As an openly lesbian woman, Baldwin is the first openly LGBTQ senator. | ||
| Kyrsten Sinema | Democratic (2019–2022) | Arizona | Jan 3, 2019 | Jan 3, 2025 | 6 years, 0 days | Sinema was the first openly bisexual senator. | ||
| Independent (2022–2025) | ||||||||
| Laphonza Butler | Democratic | California | Oct 3, 2023 | Dec 8, 2024 | 1 year, 66 days | Butler is openly lesbian and was the first openly LGBTQ African-American senator. | ||
House of Representatives
† Came out after serving ‡ Posthumously identified as LGBTQ Incumbent (currently serving)
| Representative | Party | State | Term | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Length of service | ||||||
| Ed Koch‡ | Democratic | New York | Jan 3, 1969 | Dec 31, 1977 | 8 years, 362 days | Koch denied he was gay throughout his life, but a 2022 article in The New York Times identified him as such. | ||
| Stewart McKinney‡ | Republican | Connecticut | Jan 3, 1971 | May 7, 1987 | 16 years, 124 days | After dying in office of AIDS-related illness, McKinney was outed as bisexual in his obituary. | ||
| Barbara Jordan‡ | Democratic | Texas | Jan 3, 1973 | Jan 3, 1979 | 6 years, 0 days | Jordan's domestic partnership with Nancy Earl was revealed in her obituary in 1996, making her the first LGBTQ woman in Congress (per the U.S. National Archives). | ||
| Gerry Studds | Democratic | Massachusetts | Jan 3, 1973 | Jan 3, 1997 | 24 years, 0 days | Studds came out as gay as a result of his implication in the 1983 congressional page sex scandal. He became the first openly LGBTQ person to win election to Congress with his reelection in 1984. | ||
| Robert Bauman | Republican | Maryland | Aug 21, 1973 | Jan 3, 1981 | 7 years, 135 days | Bauman was outed as gay in October 1980 while in office, making him the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress. | ||
| Pete Kostmayer† | Democratic | Pennsylvania | Jan 3, 1977 | Jan 3, 1981 | 14 years, 0 days | Announced in 2025 his 2021 marriage to a man. | ||
| Jan 3, 1983 | Jan 3, 1993 | |||||||
| Jon Hinson | Republican | Mississippi | Jan 3, 1979 | Apr 13, 1981 | 2 years, 100 days | Hinson was outed as gay after being arrested on a charge of oral sodomy on February 4, 1981. | ||
| Barney Frank | Democratic | Massachusetts | Jan 3, 1981 | Jan 3, 2013 | 32 years, 0 days | Frank came out as gay in 1987 and in 2012 became the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage. | ||
| Steve Gunderson | Republican | Wisconsin | Jan 3, 1981 | Jan 3, 1997 | 16 years, 0 days | Gunderson was outed as gay on the floor of the House in 1994, Gunderson was the first openly gay Republican to be reelected after being outed. | ||
| Jim Kolbe | Republican | Arizona | Jan 3, 1985 | Jan 3, 2007 | 22 years, 0 days | Kolbe came out as gay while in office after voting for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He was the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention. | ||
| Michael Huffington† | Republican | California | Jan 3, 1993 | Jan 3, 1995 | 2 years, 0 days | Huffington came out as bisexual in 1998 | ||
| Mark Foley† | Republican | Florida | Jan 3, 1995 | Sep 29, 2006 | 11 years, 269 days | Foley came out as gay after being implicated in a 2006 congressional page scandal. | ||
| Tammy Baldwin | Democratic | Wisconsin | Jan 3, 1999 | Jan 3, 2013 | 14 years, 0 days | Baldwin is openly lesbian, and was the first openly LGBTQ non-incumbent elected to Congress. | ||
| Mike Michaud | Democratic | Maine | Jan 3, 2003 | Jan 3, 2015 | 12 years, 0 days | Michaud came out as gay in 2013. | ||
| Jared Polis | Democratic | Colorado | Jan 3, 2009 | Jan 3, 2019 | 10 years, 0 days | In 2011, Polis became the first same-sex parent in Congress. | ||
| Aaron Schock† | Republican | Illinois | Jan 3, 2009 | Mar 31, 2015 | 6 years, 87 days | Schock came out as gay in 2020. | ||
| David Cicilline | Democratic | Rhode Island | Jan 3, 2011 | May 31, 2023 | 12 years, 148 days | Cicilline is openly gay. | ||
| Sean Patrick Maloney | Democratic | New York | Jan 3, 2013 | Jan 3, 2023 | 10 years, 0 days | Maloney is openly gay. In 2014, he married his longtime partner. | ||
| Mark Pocan | Democratic | Wisconsin | Jan 3, 2013 | Incumbent | 13 years, 40 days | Pocan is openly gay and the first LGBTQ member of Congress to replace another LGBTQ member of Congress (Tammy Baldwin) and the first non-incumbent in a same-sex marriage elected to Congress. | ||
| Kyrsten Sinema | Democratic | Arizona | Jan 3, 2013 | Jan 3, 2019 | 6 years, 0 days | Sinema was the first openly bisexual member of Congress. | ||
| Mark Takano | Democratic | California | Jan 3, 2013 | Incumbent | 13 years, 40 days | Takano is openly gay and the first openly LGBTQ person of color (specifically Asian American) elected to Congress. | ||
| Angie Craig | Democratic | Minnesota | Jan 3, 2019 | Incumbent | 7 years, 40 days | Craig is openly lesbian and the first non-incumbent LGBTQ parent elected to Congress. | ||
| Sharice Davids | Democratic | Kansas | Jan 3, 2019 | Incumbent | 7 years, 40 days | Davids is openly lesbian and the first openly LGBTQ woman of color (Native American) elected to Congress. | ||
| Katie Hill | Democratic | California | Jan 3, 2019 | Nov 1, 2019 | 302 days | Hill is openly bisexual. | ||
| Chris Pappas | Democratic | New Hampshire | Jan 3, 2019 | Incumbent | 7 years, 40 days | Pappas is openly gay. | ||
| Mondaire Jones | Democratic | New York | Jan 3, 2021 | Jan 3, 2023 | 2 years, 0 days | Along with Ritchie Torres, Jones was the first openly gay African American elected to Congress. | ||
| Ritchie Torres | Democratic | New York | Jan 3, 2021 | Incumbent | 5 years, 40 days | Along with Mondaire Jones, Torres was the first openly gay African American elected to Congress, and the first openly gay Hispanic member of Congress. | ||
| Becca Balint | Democratic | Vermont | Jan 3, 2023 | Incumbent | 3 years, 40 days | Balint is openly lesbian. | ||
| Robert Garcia | Democratic | California | Jan 3, 2023 | Incumbent | 3 years, 40 days | Garcia is openly gay. | ||
| George Santos | Republican | New York | Jan 3, 2023 | Dec 1, 2023 | 332 days | Santos is openly gay and the first openly LGBTQ non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress. | ||
| Eric Sorensen | Democratic | Illinois | Jan 3, 2023 | Incumbent | 3 years, 40 days | Sorensen is openly gay. | ||
| Julie Johnson | Democratic | Texas | Jan 3, 2025 | Incumbent | 1 year, 40 days | Johnson is openly lesbian and the first openly LGBTQ individual to represent a southern state in Congress. | ||
| Sarah McBride | Democratic | Delaware | Jan 3, 2025 | Incumbent | 1 year, 40 days | McBride is the first openly transgender individual elected to Congress. | ||
| Emily Randall | Democratic | Washington | Jan 3, 2025 | Incumbent | 1 year, 40 days | Randall is the first openly LGBTQ Hispanic woman elected to Congress. | ||
Shadow representatives
| Representative | Party | Jurisdiction | Term | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Length of service | ||||||
| Sabrina Sojourner | Democratic | District of Columbia | Jan 3, 1997 | Jan 3, 1999 | 2 years, 0 days | Sojourner came out as lesbian in 1976. | ||
Histograph of openly-serving LGBTQ members of Congress
| Starting | Total | Graph | Event | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 4, 1789 | 0 | United States Congress established | ||||||||||||||
| October 3, 1980 | 1 | Robert Bauman outed | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 1981 | 0 | Robert Bauman lost reelection | ||||||||||||||
| February 4, 1981 | 1 | Jon Hinson outed | ||||||||||||||
| April 13, 1981 | 0 | Jon Hinson resigned | ||||||||||||||
| July 14, 1983 | 1 | Gerry Studds comes out | ||||||||||||||
| May 29, 1987 | 2 | Barney Frank comes out | ||||||||||||||
| March 24, 1994 | 3 | Steve Gunderson outed | ||||||||||||||
| August 1, 1996 | 4 | Jim Kolbe comes out | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 1997 | 2 | Gerry Studds and Steve Gunderson retired | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 1999 | 3 | Tammy Baldwin elected to the House | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2007 | 2 | Jim Kolbe retired | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2009 | 3 | Jared Polis elected | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2011 | 4 | David Cicilline elected | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2013 | 7 | Tammy Baldwin retired from the House, elected to the Senate; Sean Patrick Maloney, Mark Pocan, Kyrsten Sinema, and Mark Takano elected; Barney Frank retired | ||||||||||||||
| November 4, 2013 | 8 | Mike Michaud comes out | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2015 | 7 | Mike Michaud retired | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2019 | 10 | Kyrsten Sinema retired from the House, elected to the Senate; Angie Craig, Sharice Davids, Katie Hill, and Chris Pappas elected; Jared Polis retired | ||||||||||||||
| November 1, 2019 | 9 | Katie Hill resigned | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2021 | 11 | Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres elected | ||||||||||||||
| December 9, 2022 | 11 | Kyrsten Sinema registered as an independent | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2023 | 13 | Becca Balint, Robert Garcia, George Santos, and Eric Sorensen elected; Mondaire Jones lost renomination; Sean Patrick Maloney lost reelection | ||||||||||||||
| June 1, 2023 | 12 | David Cicilline resigned | ||||||||||||||
| October 4, 2023 | 13 | Laphonza Butler appointed | ||||||||||||||
| December 1, 2023 | 12 | George Santos expelled | ||||||||||||||
| December 8, 2024 | 11 | Laphonza Butler resigned | ||||||||||||||
| January 3, 2025 | 13 | Kyrsten Sinema retired; Julie Johnson, Sarah McBride, and Emily Randall elected |
Democratic Party
Republican Party
Independent
See also
- Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus
- List of LGBTQ politicians in the United States
- List of first openly LGBTQ politicians in the United States
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