This is a list of lesbian, gay, and bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans who have served in the United States Congress.
As of March 2021,[update] 26 members of the LGBT community are known to have held office in the U.S. Congress. In the House, 25 LGBT people held office; in the Senate, 3 held office. Two people, Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema, served in the House and were later elected into the Senate. The earliest known LGBT congressperson was Ed Koch, who began his term in the House in 1969. The earliest known LGBT 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. Sabrina Sojourner served as the Shadow Representative for the District of Columbia for the 1997 to 1999 term, though she did not have floor privileges.[1][2]
There are currently[update] 11 openly LGBT members of the 117th Congress, most of whom are Democrats. Two are senators and the rest are House representatives. This constitutes the most LGBT congresspeople serving at the same time in U.S. history.[3][4]
Came out after serving
Posthumously identified as LGBT
Senator | Party | State | Term | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | ||||||
Harris Wofford![]() |
Democratic | Pennsylvania | May 8, 1991 | January 3, 1995 | Announced his marriage to a man in 2016, which makes him the earliest known LGBT senator.[5][6] Lost reelection in 1994. | ||
Tammy Baldwin | Democratic | Wisconsin | January 3, 2013 | Incumbent | As an openly lesbian woman, Baldwin is the first openly LGBT senator.[3][7][8] | ||
Kyrsten Sinema | Democratic (2019–2022) |
Arizona | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | Sinema is the first openly bisexual senator.[3][9] | ||
Independent (2022–present) |
Came out after serving
Posthumously identified as LGBT
Representative | Party | State | Term | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | ||||||
Ed Koch![]() |
Democratic | New York | January 3, 1969 | December 31, 1977 | Koch denied he was gay throughout his life, but his sexuality was confirmed in a 2022 article in The New York Times. This makes him the earliest known LGBT member of Congress[10] Resigned after being elected mayor of New York City. | ||
Stewart McKinney![]() |
Republican | Connecticut | January 3, 1971 | May 7, 1987 | After dying in office of AIDS, McKinney was outed as bisexual in his obituary.[6][11][12][13][14][15] | ||
Barbara Jordan![]() |
Democratic | Texas | January 3, 1973 | January 3, 1979 | Jordan's domestic partnership with Nancy Earl was revealed in her obituary in 1996, making her the first LGBT woman in Congress (per the U.S. National Archives).[16][17] Retired | ||
Gerry Studds | Democratic | Massachusetts | January 3, 1973 | January 3, 1997 | Came out as gay as a result of his implication in the 1983 congressional page sex scandal.[18] He became the first openly LGBT person to win election to Congress with his reelection in 1984.[6] Retired. | ||
Robert Bauman | Republican | Maryland | August 21, 1973 | January 3, 1981 | Outed as gay in October 1980 while in office, making him the first openly LGBT member of Congress.[19][20][6] Lost reelection. | ||
Jon Hinson | Republican | Mississippi | January 3, 1979 | April 13, 1981 | Outed as gay after being arrested on a charge of oral sodomy on February 4, 1981.[21][6] Resigned. | ||
Barney Frank | Democratic | Massachusetts | January 3, 1981 | January 3, 2013 | Came out as gay in 1987 and in 2012 became the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage.[6][22][23] Retired. | ||
Steve Gunderson | Republican | Wisconsin | January 3, 1981 | January 3, 1997 | Outed as gay on the floor of the House in 1994, Gunderson was the first openly gay Republican to be reelected after being outed.[24][25][6] Retired. | ||
Jim Kolbe | Republican | Arizona | January 3, 1985 | January 3, 2007 | 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.[26][27][28][6] Retired. | ||
Michael Huffington![]() |
Republican | California | January 3, 1993 | January 3, 1995 | Came out as bisexual in 1998.[6][29] Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. senator from California. | ||
Mark Foley | Republican | Florida | January 3, 1995 | September 29, 2006 | Came out as gay after being implicated in a 2006 congressional page scandal.[30] Resigned. | ||
Tammy Baldwin | Democratic | Wisconsin | January 3, 1999 | January 3, 2013 | Openly lesbian. First openly LGBT non-incumbent elected to Congress.[7][6] Retired to run successfully for U.S. senator from Wisconsin. | ||
Mike Michaud | Democratic | Maine | January 3, 2003 | January 3, 2015 | Came out as gay in 2013.[31][32][6] Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Maine. | ||
Jared Polis | Democratic | Colorado | January 3, 2009 | January 3, 2019 | In 2011, Polis became the first same-sex parent in Congress.[6][33][8][34] Retired to run successfully for Governor of Colorado. | ||
Aaron Schock![]() |
Republican | Illinois | January 3, 2009 | March 31, 2015 | Came out as gay in 2020.[35] Resigned. | ||
David Cicilline | Democratic | Rhode Island | January 3, 2011 | Incumbent | Openly gay.[3][6][8] | ||
Sean Patrick Maloney | Democratic | New York | January 3, 2013 | January 3, 2023 | Openly gay.[3][6][8] Lost reelection | ||
Mark Pocan | Democratic | Wisconsin | January 3, 2013 | Incumbent | Openly gay. First LGBT member of Congress to replace another LGBT member of Congress (Tammy Baldwin) and the first non-incumbent in a same-sex marriage elected to Congress.[3][6][8][36] | ||
Kyrsten Sinema | Democratic | Arizona | January 3, 2013 | January 3, 2019 | First openly bisexual member of Congress.[6][8][37] Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from Arizona. | ||
Mark Takano | Democratic | California | January 3, 2013 | Incumbent | Openly gay. First openly LGBT person of color (specifically Asian American) elected to Congress.[3][8] | ||
Angie Craig | Democratic | Minnesota | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | Openly lesbian. The first non-incumbent LGBT parent elected to Congress.[3][38] | ||
Sharice Davids | Democratic | Kansas | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | Openly lesbian. The first openly LGBT woman of color (specifically Native American) elected to Congress.[3][39] | ||
Katie Hill | Democratic | California | January 3, 2019 | November 1, 2019 | Openly bisexual.[40] Resigned. | ||
Chris Pappas | Democratic | New Hampshire | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | Openly gay.[3][41] | ||
Mondaire Jones | Democratic | New York | January 3, 2021 | January 3, 2023 | Along with Ritchie Torres, the first openly gay African-American elected to Congress.[3][42] Lost renomination. | ||
Ritchie Torres | Democratic | New York | January 3, 2021 | Incumbent | Along with Mondaire Jones, the first openly gay African-American elected to Congress,[42] and the first openly gay Hispanic member of Congress.[3] | ||
Becca Balint | Democratic | Vermont | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | Openly lesbian.[43] | ||
Robert Garcia | Democratic | California | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | Openly gay.[44] | ||
George Santos | Republican | New York | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | Openly gay.[45] First openly LGBT non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress.[a] | ||
Eric Sorensen | Democratic | Illinois | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | Openly gay.[47] |