Washington: The US Congress reconvenes Tuesday for its 114th session, following November 4 midterms that saw Republicans clinch a Senate majority and expand their control in the House of Representatives.
All in all there will be 71 freshmen lawmakers sworn in on January 6 -- 58 in the House and 13 in the Senate.
Three others who won House elections in November took their oaths early to fill the seats of lawmakers who left Congress.
Although Capitol Hill is still predominantly white and male, the new wave of legislators brings more diversity to Congress.
Here is a breakdown of the US legislature in numbers.
- Republicans: 54 (+8)
- Democrats: 46 (-8), including two independents who caucus with the Democrats
- Women: 20 (14 Democrats, 6 Republicans)
- Minorities: Two African-Americans (Cory Booker, Tim Scott), three Hispanic-Americans (Robert Menendez, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz) and one Asian-American (Mazie Hirono)
- Republicans: 246. The total would have been 247 (+13), but one Republican, Michael Grimm, resigned Monday after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion
This is the largest Republican majority since the election of 1928, when there were 270 Republicans
- Democrats: 188 (-13)
- Women: 84 (62 Democrats, 22 Republicans)
- Minorities: The House includes 44 African-Americans (42 Democrats, 2 Republicans), 34 Hispanic members (24 Democrats and 10 Republicans) and 10 representatives of Asian origin (all Democrats).
- In a new record, a total of 104 women will serve in Congress, four more than in the previous session, which was also a record. The legislature will be just more than 19 percent female -- the highest ratio ever, but still a far cry from the roughly 51 percent of the US population.
- Among the congressional ranks will be Mia Love of Utah, the first Republican black woman elected to Congress, meaning African-American men and women will be representing both parties on Capitol Hill for the first time.
- Joining her will be Republican Elise Stefanik of New York, who in November at age 30 became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
