Term Limits Please
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI-12) — 59 years in office (1955-2015) — Beginning his career by replacing his father John Dingell Sr. as representative for Michigan’s 16th district in a special election in 1955, and was re-elected 29 times to that seat, running unopposed twice. Upon Dingell’s retirement from office in 2015, he was succeeded by his wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12) in a special election to fill his
Rep. Jamie Whitten (D-MS-01) — 53 years in office (1941-1995) — Throughout his tenure, Whitten served on the Appropriations Committee, chairing it from 1979-1992, and used his time to advocate for agricultural spending. Coined a “New Dealer” for supporting FDR’s New Deal economic policies, Whitten pushed for liberal spending that established free and reduced school lunches and food stamp programs.
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-13) — 52 years in office (1965-2017) — The longest-serving African American in Congress, Conyers co-founded the powerful Congressional Black Caucus in 1969. Conyers’ legacy in the House included establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and getting the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. A leader in civil rights, Conyers represented much of the historically African American community in western Detroit and used his position to advocate for racial equality.
seat.
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) — 51 years in office (1959-2010) — As the longest ever serving senator in U.S. history, Byrd certainly left his mark on the chamber. Byrd was renowned for his parliamentary procedure and precedent knowledge and developed several rules and concepts such as pork-barrel spending, and the ever aggrieved Byrd Rule, which requires a ⅗ Senate majority vote to pass a bill.
Byrd was involved with the Klan throughout much of the 1940s, according to the Washington Post. In 1946, for example, he said in a letter to the Grand Wizard that "the Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia."
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) — 49 years in office (1963-2012) — Inouye was the first legislator elected to represent Hawaii after it achieved full statehood in 1959 and was later elected to the Senate in 1962. Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve the House and Senate. A Medal of Honor recipient, Inouye pursued civic service after losing an arm to a battle wound during World War II. Inouye served as Hawaii’s senator up until his death in 2012
Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-SC 1954-1964, R-SC 1964-2003) — 48 years in office (1954-2003) — A notorious segregationist, Thurmond conducted the longest ever speaking filibuster delivered by a single senator, speaking for 24 hours and 18 minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to block the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Thurmond reached the age of 100 while in office in 2003, also giving him the title of the oldest serving senator ever in office. Thurmond was also the longest-serving member of Congress to solely serve in the Senate.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) — 47 years — Leahy served as the President pro tempore of the US Senate, presiding over the Senate when the Vice President is absent. This position put Sen. Leahy third in the line of succession to the presidency, behind the Vice President and Speaker of the House. He sponsored 564 bills during his tenure, voting with his party 92.0 percent of the time, getting 31.56 percent of his bills out of committee, and 7.62 percent of his sponsored bills enacted. Leahy most frequently cosponsors bills with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) (111 bills), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (103 bills), and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (91 bills). Sen. Leahy did not seek reelection in 2022 and retired at the end of his term
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — 41 years — One of the longest-serving senators ever, Chuck Grassley is the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, and a member of the Finance, Budget, Agriculture, and Taxation committees. As Judiciary chairman, the conservative Iowan was responsible for confirming the most federal judges ever in a two-year period from 2018-2020, including two Supreme Court justices — reorienting the third branch of government. His legacy also includes passing the First Step Act of 2018, which made the biggest change to federal sentencing laws in a generation. Notorious for his colorful tweets, Grassley summed up his own legacy in 2018 tweeting “To all the ppl who always disagree w my tweets bc I’m a Republican-what do u think of us passing bipartisan criminal justice reform that I’ve worked on for yrs???” Sen. Grassley won re-election in 2022.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — 37 years — Leading the Senate Republican caucus for 16 years, McConnell is the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history. McConnell has somehow managed to unite a caucus ranging from centrists to unyielding conservatives. McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984. Since then, he has risen in the ranks to hold many party leadership positions, including Majority Whip, Majority Leader, and now currently Minority Leader of the Senate. He works most frequently on bills that cover Intergovernmental relations (107 bills), Law (97 bills), Crime and Law Enforcement (89 bills), Commerce (85 bills), and Labor and Employment (69 bills). He has sponsored 249 bills in his last thirty-seven year(s) in office, voting with his party 93.0 percent of the time, getting 17.27 percent of his bills out of committee, and 4.42 percent of his sponsored bills enacted. Sen. McConnell is up for re-election in 2026.
