117th Congress (2021 - 2023)

Member Spotlight

Featured: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate Majority Leader, is a prominent figure in modern-day American government. Born on November 23, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Harvard College and earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Schumer began his political career in the New York State Assembly before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980. In 1998, he won a U.S. Senate seat, becoming New York's senior senator when Daniel Patrick Moynihan retired in 2000. Schumer was elected Senate Majority Leader in January 2021, following a 50–50 Senate split and Vice President Kamala Harris's tie-breaking vote. He was the first New Yorker and the first Jewish person to hold the position. As Majority Leader, Schumer led the Senate through a period of significant legislative activity, including the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act. Under his leadership, the Senate confirmed a record number of federal judges, including the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson. In December 2022, Schumer was re-elected to a fifth term in the Senate.