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Dean of the United States House of Representatives

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The dean of the United States House of Representatives is the longest continuously serving member of the House. The current dean is Hal Rogers, a Republican from Kentucky, who has served in the House since 1981. The dean is a symbolic post, whose only customary duty is to swear in a speaker of the House after the speaker is elected.[1] This responsibility was first recorded in 1819 but has not been observed continuously – at times, the speaker-elect was the current dean or the speaker-elect preferred to be sworn in by a member of their own party when the dean belonged to another party. The dean comes forward on the House Floor to administer the oath to the speaker-elect, before the new speaker then administers the oath to the other members.[2]

Dean of the
United States House of Representatives
Incumbent
Hal Rogers
since March 18, 2022 (2022-03-18)
United States House of Representatives
Member ofUnited States House of Representatives
SeatKentucky's 5th
First holderFrederick Muhlenberg
March 4, 1789

While deans perform the swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected speaker, they do not preside over the election of a speaker, as do the Father of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and the dean of the Canadian House of Commons (that duty falls to the previous House's Clerk).

Because of other privileges associated with seniority, the dean is usually allotted some of the most desirable office space, and is generally either chair or ranking minority member of an influential committee.

It is unclear when the position first achieved concrete recognition, though the seniority system and increasing lengths of service emerged in the early 20th century. As late as 1924, Frederick H. Gillett was dean, and also speaker, before becoming a senator. Modern deans move into their positions so late in their careers that a move to the Senate is highly unlikely. When Ed Markey broke Gillett's record for time in the House before moving to the Senate in 2013 he was still decades junior to the sitting dean.

The deanship can change hands unexpectedly. In the 1952 election, Adolph J. Sabath became the first Representative elected to a 24th term, breaking the record of 23 terms first set by former Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon, whose service had been non-consecutive, whereas Sabath's was not. North Carolina's Robert L. Doughton had not contested that election as he was retiring at the age of 89 years and two months, a House age record broken in 1998 by Sidney R. Yates, and again by Ralph Hall in 2012. However, Sabath died before the new term began and Doughton was dean for the old term's final months before Speaker Sam Rayburn became dean in the new Congress.

List of deans of the House

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Years as dean are followed by name, party, state, and start of service in Congress.

All the members of the First Congress had equal seniority (as defined for the purpose of this article), but Muhlenberg, as the speaker, was the first member to be sworn in. Muhlenberg, Hartley and Thatcher were among the 13 members who attended the initial meeting of the House on March 4, 1789.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some state delegations to the House were often not elected until after the term had begun. To avoid confusion, this fact is ignored in the list below.

Became dean End date Dean Party State Seniority from Speaker(s)
March 4, 1789 March 3, 1797   Frederick Muhlenberg[A] Federalist PA March 4, 1789 Frederick Muhlenberg
(1789–1791)
Jonathan Trumbull Jr.
(1791–1793)
Frederick Muhlenberg
(1793–1795)
Jonathan Dayton
(1795–1799)
March 4, 1797 December 21, 1800   Thomas Hartley[B][C] Federalist PA
Theodore Sedgwick
(1799–1801)
March 3, 1801   George Thatcher Federalist MA
March 4, 1801 March 3, 1803 William B. Grove[C] Federalist NC March 4, 1791 Nathaniel Macon
(1801–1807)
March 3, 1807   Andrew Gregg[C] Democratic-Republican PA
December 13, 1815   Nathaniel Macon[D] Democratic-Republican NC Joseph Bradley Varnum
(1807–1811)
Henry Clay
(1811–1814)
Langdon Cheves
(1814–1815)
December 13, 1815 April 9, 1816 Richard Stanford[B] Democratic-Republican NC March 4, 1797 Henry Clay
(1815–1820)
April 9, 1816 March 3, 1817   John Davenport Federalist CT March 4, 1799
March 4, 1817 March 3, 1830   Thomas Newton Jr. Democratic-Republican
(1817–1825) 		VA March 4, 1801
John Taylor
(1820–1821)
Philip P. Barbour
(1821–1823)
Henry Clay
(1823–1825)
National Republican
(1825–1830) 		John Taylor
(1825–1827)
Andrew Stevenson
(1827–1834)
March 4, 1830 March 3, 1833 William McCoy Jacksonian VA March 4, 1811
March 4, 1833 February 23, 1842   Lewis Williams[B] National Republican
(1833–1837) 		NC March 4, 1815
John Bell
(1834–1835)
James K. Polk
(1835–1839)
Whig
(1837–1842) 		Robert M. T. Hunter
(1839–1841)
John White
(1841–1843)
February 23, 1842 March 3, 1843   Horace Everett[C] Whig VT March 4, 1829 John Winston Jones
(1843–1845)
April 22, 1844   Dixon H. Lewis Democratic AL
April 22, 1844 February 23, 1848   John Quincy Adams[B][C] Whig MA March 4, 1831 John Wesley Davis
(1845–1847)
Robert Charles Winthrop
(1847–1849)
March 3, 1849   James I. McKay Democratic NC
March 4, 1849 March 3, 1855   Linn Boyd[E] Democratic KY March 4, 1839 Howell Cobb
(1849–1851)
Linn Boyd
(1851–1856)
March 4, 1855 March 3, 1859   Joshua Reed Giddings Republican OH May 5, 1842 Nathaniel P. Banks
(1856–1857)
James Lawrence Orr
(1857–1860)
March 4, 1859 March 3, 1863   John S. Phelps Democratic MO March 4, 1845 William Pennington
(1860–1861)
Galusha A. Grow
(1861–1863)
March 4, 1863 March 3, 1869   Elihu B. Washburne Republican IL March 4, 1853 Schuyler Colfax
(1863–1869)
Theodore M. Pomeroy
(1869)
March 4, 1869 March 3, 1875   Henry L. Dawes Republican MA March 4, 1857 James G. Blaine
(1869–1875)
March 4, 1875 January 9, 1890   William D. Kelley[B] Republican PA March 4, 1861 Michael C. Kerr
(1875–1876)
Samuel J. Randall
(1876–1881)
J. Warren Keifer
(1881–1883)
John G. Carlisle
(1883–1889)
Thomas Brackett Reed
(1889–1891)
January 9, 1890 April 13, 1890   Samuel J. Randall[B] Democratic PA March 4, 1863
April 13, 1890 March 3, 1891   Joseph G. Cannon[C] Republican IL March 4, 1873
March 22, 1892   Roger Q. Mills[C] Democratic TX Charles Frederick Crisp
(1891–1895)
March 3, 1893   James H. Blount[C] Democratic GA
March 3, 1895   Richard P. Bland Democratic MO
March 4, 1895 March 3, 1897   David B. Culberson Democratic TX March 4, 1875 Thomas Brackett Reed
(1895–1899)
March 4, 1897 September 4, 1899   Thomas Brackett Reed[F][C] Republican ME March 4, 1877
March 6, 1900   Alfred C. Harmer[B] Republican PA David B. Henderson
(1899–1903)
March 6, 1900 March 22, 1912   Henry H. Bingham[B] Republican PA March 4, 1879
Joseph G. Cannon
(1903–1911)
Champ Clark
(1911–1919)
March 22, 1912 March 3, 1913   John Dalzell Republican PA March 4, 1887
March 4, 1913 December 10, 1914   Sereno E. Payne[B] Republican NY March 4, 1889
December 10, 1914 April 17, 1918   William Jones[B] Democratic VA March 4, 1891
April 17, 1918 March 3, 1919   Henry Allen Cooper[B][C] Republican WI March 4, 1893 Frederick H. Gillett
(1919–1925)
March 3, 1925   Frederick H. Gillett[G] Republican MA
March 4, 1925 May 26, 1928   Thomas S. Butler[B] Republican PA March 4, 1897 Nicholas Longworth
(1925–1931)
May 26, 1928 March 3, 1933   Gilbert N. Haugen Republican IA March 4, 1899
John Nance Garner
(1931–1933)
March 4, 1933 April 1, 1934   Edward W. Pou[B] Democratic NC March 4, 1901 Henry T. Rainey
(1933–1935)
April 1, 1934 November 6, 1952   Adolph Sabath[B] Democratic IL March 4, 1907 Jo Byrns
(1935–1936)
William B. Bankhead
(1936–1940)
Sam Rayburn
(1940–1947)
Joseph W. Martin Jr.
(1947–1949)
Sam Rayburn
(1949–1953)
November 6, 1952 January 3, 1953   Robert L. Doughton Democratic NC March 4, 1911
January 3, 1953 November 16, 1961   Sam Rayburn[H][B] Democratic TX March 4, 1913 Joseph W. Martin Jr.
(1953–1955)
Sam Rayburn
(1955–1961)
November 16, 1961 January 3, 1965   Carl Vinson Democratic GA November 3, 1914 John W. McCormack
(1962–1971)
January 3, 1965 January 3, 1973   Emanuel Celler Democratic NY March 4, 1923
Carl Albert
(1971–1977)
January 3, 1973 March 7, 1976   Wright Patman[B] Democratic TX March 4, 1929
March 7, 1976 January 3, 1979   George H. Mahon Democratic TX January 3, 1935 Tip O'Neill
(1977–1987)
January 3, 1979 January 3, 1995   Jamie Whitten Democratic MS November 4, 1941
Jim Wright
(1987–1989)
Tom Foley
(1989–1995)
January 3, 1995 January 3, 2015   John Dingell[I] Democratic MI December 13, 1955 Newt Gingrich
(1995–1999)
Dennis Hastert
(1999–2007)
Nancy Pelosi
(2007–2011)
John Boehner
(2011–2015)
January 3, 2015 December 5, 2017   John Conyers[J] Democratic MI January 3, 1965
Paul Ryan
(2015–2019)
December 5, 2017 March 18, 2022   Don Young[B] Republican AK March 6, 1973
Nancy Pelosi
(2019–2023)
March 18, 2022 Incumbent   Hal Rogers Republican KY January 3, 1981
Kevin McCarthy
(2023)
Mike Johnson
(2023–present)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "List at House official site that records the Dean (originally called "Father") and who swore in the Speaker for each Congress". Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "Oath of Office - US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". History.house.gov. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2018.

Notes

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  1. ^ Served as Speaker 1789–1791 and 1793–1795.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Died in office.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Never held sole deanship due to tie.
  4. ^ Served as Speaker 1801–1807.
  5. ^ Previously served in House 1835–1837; Served as Speaker 1851–1855.
  6. ^ Served as Speaker 1889–1891 and 1895–1899.
  7. ^ Served as Speaker 1919–1925.
  8. ^ Served as Speaker 1955–1961.
  9. ^ Longest serving House member ever and held the longest deanship.
  10. ^ Resigned.
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