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 (1945–1953). 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) when Truman's predecessor Franklin D. Roosevelt took office. 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, 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 the developing Cold War with former ally the 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.
Major events
January 3, 1947: Proceedings of the United States Congress were televised for the first time. March 12, 1947: In a Joint Session of Congress, President Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine. July 18, 1947: The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean (occupied since 1943-1945 of the Second World War), entered into a trusteeship with the new international organization United Nations and administered by the United States for the next few decades. November 24, 1947: The House of Representatives approved citations of contempt of Congress against the so-called Hollywood 10. July 20, 1948: President Truman issued the second peacetime military draft in the United States amid increasing tensions of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which endured until the early 1970s. July 26, 1948: Turnip Day Session begins, special session called by Truman on July 15, 1948, before November elections; President Truman signed Executive Order 9981, ending racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces since the Reconstruction era of the 1860s/1870s. August 25, 1948: House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee held the first-ever televised congressional hearing: "Confrontation Day" between alleged Communist sympathizers from the 1930s of Time magazine journalist Whittaker Chambers and former friend State Department official Alger Hiss. November 2, 1948: United States general elections, 1948: Presidential election: Democrat incumbent President Harry Truman, in an upset victory, defeated Republican Thomas E. Dewey (Governor of New York), and third and fourth minority parties candidates: Governor of South Carolina (and longtime future U.S. Senator) Strom Thurmond, and former Vice President Henry A. Wallace; Democrats regained majority control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives for the next two years in the coming 81st Congress.
Major legislation
May 22, 1947: Assistance to Greece and Turkey Act (Truman Doctrine), Sess. 1, ch. 81, , June 23, 1947: Taft–Hartley Act, Sess. 1, ch. 120, , July 18, 1947: Presidential Succession Act of 1947, Sess. 1, ch. 264, , July 26, 1947: National Security Act of 1947, Sess. 1, ch. 343, , August 7, 1947: Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, Sess. 1, ch. 513, , January 27, 1948: United States Information and Educational Exchange Act, Sess. 2, ch. 36, , April 3, 1948: Foreign Assistance Act (Marshall Plan), , Sess. 2, ch. 169, April 3, 1948: Greek-Turkish Assistance Act of 1948 (Marshall Plan), Sess. 2, ch. 169, , Title III, May 26, 1948: Civil Air Patrol Act, Sess. 2, ch. 349, , June 12, 1948: Women's Armed Services Integration Act, Sess. 2, ch. 449, , June 17, 1948: Reed-Bulwinkle Act, Sess. 2, ch. 491, , June 25, 1948: Codify and enact into law Title 3 of the United States Code"The President", Sess. 2, ch. 644, , June 28, 1948: Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act of 1948, , June 30, 1948: Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Sess. 2, ch. 758, , July 3, 1948: War Claims Act of 1948, Sess. 2, ch. 826, , July 3, 1948: Agricultural Act of 1948, Sess. 2, ch. 827, ,
Constitutional amendments March 21, 1947: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution setting a term limit for election and overall time of service to the office of President of the United States, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification Amendment was later ratified on February 27, 1951, becoming the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution
Party summary
Senate
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 Republican Democratic American Labor Progressive Vacant End of previous Congress 191 236 1 1 429 6 Begin 245 187 1 0 433 2 End 242 186 2 430 5 Final voting share 56.7% 43.1% 0.2% 0.0% Beginning of the next Congress 171 262 1 0 434 1
Leadership
Senate President: Vacant President pro tempore: Arthur Vandenberg (R)
Majority (Republican) leadership Majority leader: Wallace H. White Jr. Majority whip: Kenneth S. Wherry Republican Conference Chairman: Eugene Millikin Republican Conference Secretary: Milton Young National Senatorial Committee Chair: Owen Brewster Policy Committee Chairman: Robert A. Taft
Minority (Democratic) leadership Minority leader: Alben W. Barkley Minority whip: Scott W. Lucas Democratic Caucus Secretary: Brien McMahon Policy Committee Chairman: Alben W. Barkley
House of Representatives Speaker: Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R)
Majority (Republican) leadership Majority Leader: Charles A. Halleck Republican Whip: Leslie C. Arends Republican Conference Chairman: Roy O. Woodruff Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Leonard W. Hall
Minority (Democratic) leadership Minority Leader: Sam Rayburn Democratic Whip: John W. McCormack Democratic Caucus Chairman: Aime Forand Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Michael J. Kirwan
Caucuses House Democratic Caucus Senate Democratic Caucus
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.
Alabama 2. John J. Sparkman (D) 3. J. Lister Hill (D)
Arizona 1. Ernest McFarland (D) 3. Carl Hayden (D)
Arkansas 2. John L. McClellan (D) 3. J. William Fulbright (D)
California 1. William Knowland (R) 3. Sheridan Downey (D)
Colorado 2. Edwin C. Johnson (D) 3. Eugene Millikin (R)
Connecticut 1. Raymond E. Baldwin (R) 3. Brien McMahon (D)
Delaware 1. John J. Williams (R) 2. C. Douglass Buck (R)
Florida 1. Spessard Holland (D) 3. Claude Pepper (D)
Georgia 2. Walter F. George (D) 3. Richard Russell Jr. (D)
Idaho 2. Henry Dworshak (R) 3. Glen H. Taylor (D)
Illinois 2. Charles W. Brooks (R) 3. Scott W. Lucas (D)
Indiana 1. William E. Jenner (R) 3. Homer E. Capehart (R)
Iowa 2. George A. Wilson (R) 3. Bourke B. Hickenlooper (R)
Kansas 2. Arthur Capper (R) 3. Clyde M. Reed (R)
Kentucky 2. John Sherman Cooper (R) 3. Alben Barkley (D)
Louisiana 2. Allen J. Ellender (D) 3. John H. Overton (D), until May 14, 1948 William C. Feazel (D), May 18, 1948 – December 30, 1948 Russell B. Long (D), from December 31, 1948
Maine 1. Ralph Owen Brewster (R) 2. Wallace H. White Jr. (R)
Maryland 1. Herbert O'Conor (D) 3. Millard Tydings (D)
Massachusetts 1. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R) 2. Leverett Saltonstall (R)
Michigan 1. Arthur H. Vandenberg (R) 2. Homer S. Ferguson (R)
Minnesota 1. Edward John Thye (R) 2. Joseph H. Ball (R)
Mississippi 1. Theodore G. Bilbo (D), until August 21, 1947 John C. Stennis (D), from November 17, 1947 2. James Eastland (D)
Missouri 1. James P. Kem (R) 3. Forrest C. Donnell (R)
Montana 1. Zales Ecton (R) 2. James E. Murray (D)
Nebraska 1. Hugh A. Butler (R) 2. Kenneth S. Wherry (R)
Nevada 1. George W. Malone (R) 3. Patrick A. McCarran (D)
New Hampshire 2. Styles Bridges (R) 3. Charles W. Tobey (R)
New Jersey 1. Howard Alexander Smith (R) 2. Albert W. Hawkes (R)
New Mexico 1. Dennis Chávez (D) 2. Carl Hatch (D)
New York 1. Irving Ives (R) 3. Robert F. Wagner (D)
North Carolina 2. William B. Umstead (D), until December 30, 1948 J. Melville Broughton (D), from December 31, 1948 3. Clyde R. Hoey (D)
North Dakota 1. William Langer (R-NPL) 3. Milton Young (R)
Ohio 1. John W. Bricker (R) 3. Robert A. Taft (R)
Oklahoma 2. Edward H. Moore (R) 3. Elmer Thomas (D)
Oregon 2. Guy Cordon (R) 3. Wayne Morse (R)
Pennsylvania 1. Edward Martin (R) 3. Francis J. Myers (D)
Rhode Island 1. J. Howard McGrath (D) 2. Theodore F. Green (D)
South Carolina 2. Burnet R. Maybank (D) 3. Olin D. Johnston (D)
South Dakota 2. Harlan J. Bushfield (R), until September 27, 1948 Vera C. Bushfield (R), October 6, 1948 – December 26, 1948 Karl E. Mundt (R), from December 31, 1948 3. John Chandler Gurney (R)
Tennessee 1. Kenneth McKellar (D) 2. Tom Stewart (D)
Texas 1. Tom T. Connally (D) 2. W. Lee O'Daniel (D)
Utah 1. Arthur Vivian Watkins (R) 3. Elbert D. Thomas (D)
Vermont 1. Ralph Flanders (R) 3. George Aiken (R)
Virginia 1. Harry F. Byrd (D) 2. A. Willis Robertson (D)
Washington 1. Harry P. Cain (R) 3. Warren G. Magnuson (D)
West Virginia 1. Harley M. Kilgore (D) 2. Chapman Revercomb (R)
Wisconsin 1. Joseph McCarthy (R) 3. Alexander Wiley (R)
Wyoming 1. Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D) 2. Edward V. Robertson (R)
House of Representatives
The names 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.
Alabama . Frank W. Boykin (D) . George M. Grant (D) . George W. Andrews (D) . Sam Hobbs (D) . Albert Rains (D) . Pete Jarman (D) . Carter Manasco (D) . Robert E. Jones Jr. (D), from January 28, 1947 . Laurie C. Battle (D)
Arizona . John R. Murdock (D) . Richard F. Harless (D)
Arkansas . Ezekiel C. Gathings (D) . Wilbur Mills (D) . James William Trimble (D) . William Fadjo Cravens (D) . Brooks Hays (D) . William F. Norrell (D) . Oren Harris (D)
California . Clarence F. Lea (D) . Clair Engle (D)