The Democrats won back the majority in both chambers, and with the election of PresidentHarry S. Truman to his own full term in office, this gave the Democrats an overall federal government trifecta.
Major events
January 20, 1949: President Harry S. Truman began his second (only full) term. Alben W. Barkley began his term as Vice President, which had been vacant since 1945.
January 21, 1950: Accused communist spy Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury
January 31, 1950: President Truman ordered the development of the hydrogen bomb, in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949
June 27, 1950: Korean War: President Truman ordered American military forces to aid in the defense of South Korea
Major legislation
Civil libertarians and radical political activists considered the McCarran Act to be a dangerous and unconstitutional infringement of political liberty, as exemplified in this 1961 poster.
Senators are popularly elected statewide every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Senators are ordered first by state, and then by seniority. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election, In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1950; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1952; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1954.
House of Representatives
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
Senate
House of Representatives
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.
