List of members of the United States Congress by brevity of service
This is a list of United States congresspersons by brevity of service. It includes Representatives and Senators who have served at least less than two years in the House or six years in the Senate, not counting currently serving members. This list excludes members whose term ended with 73rd United States Congress that served the entirety of that term, which due to the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution, only lasted from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1935, and inaugural holders of Class 1 and Class 2 Senate seats that served the entirety of the first term, due to the initial terms being only 2 and 4 years long respectively, as the Senate classes were staggered so that a third of the seats would be up every two years.
Key
| In green | Appointed to Senate or won special election |
| D | Died |
| R | Resigned |
| AE | Appointed or elected to a different office |
| O | Other reason for loss of office |
Senate time
| Tenure | Name | Party affiliation | State | Reason for leaving | Dates of service | Lifespan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 day[lower-alpha 1] | Rebecca Latimer Felton[1] | Democratic | Georgia | Appointed and did not seek reelection. | November 21, 1922 – November 22, 1922[lower-alpha 2] | 1835-1930 |
| 2[lower-alpha 3] | 3 days | Louis C. Wyman[1] (O) | Republican | New Hampshire | Initially won election to the Senate, but was appointed shortly before it convening to gain seniority over the rest of the incoming session. His seat was ruled as vacant and a new election was held. | December 31, 1974 – January 3, 1975 | 1917-2002 |
| 3 | 8 days | Homer V. M. Miller (O) | Democratic | Georgia | Won election to the Senate, but was not seated until February 24, 1871 and served the remainder of his term. | February 24, 1871 – March 3, 1871 | 1814-1896 |
| 4 | 10 days | Alva M. Lumpkin (D) | Democratic | South Carolina | Appointed following the vacancy created by James F. Byrnes's appointment to the Supreme Court and later died. | July 22, 1941 – August 1, 1941 | 1886-1941 |
| 5 | 44 days | Wilton E. Hall | Democratic | South Carolina | Appointed following the vacancy created by Ellison D. Smith's death and chose not to seek reelection. | November 20, 1944 – January 3, 1945 | 1901-1980 |
| 6 | 55 days | Thomas M. Storke | Democratic | California | Appointed as interim Senator following the vacancy created by William Gibbs McAdoo's resignation and the inauguration of Sheridan Downey. | November 9, 1938 – January 3, 1939 | 1876-1971 |
| 7 | 59 days | Dean Barkley[1] | Independence Party of Minnesota | Minnesota | Appointed following the death of Paul Wellstone. | November 4, 2002 – January 3, 2003 | 1950- |
| 8 | 59 days | John Moses (D) | Democratic | North Dakota | Won in the general election, died in office. | January 3, 1945 – March 3, 1945 | 1885-1945 |
| 9 | 73 days | George Jones | Democratic-Republican | Georgia | Appointed to fill out the remainder of Abraham Baldwin's term. | August 27, 1807 – November 7, 1807 | 1766-1838 |
| 10 | 93 days | Jocelyn Burdick[1] | Democratic | North Dakota | Appointed following the death of her husband Quentin Burdick. | September 12, 1992 – December 14, 1992 | 1922-2019 |
| 97 days | George Walton | ||||||
| 11 | 104 days | Elaine Edwards[1] (R) | Democratic | Louisiana | Appointed following the death of Allen J. Ellender and later resigned. | August 1, 1972 – November 13, 1972 | 1929-2018 |
| 12 | 110 days | Middleton P. Barrow | Democratic | Georgia | Appointed to fill out the remainder of Benjamin Harvey Hill's term and did not seek election to a term in his own right. | November 15, 1882 – March 3, 1883 | 1839-1903 |
| 13 | 117 days | Oliver H. Prince | Democratic | Georgia | Selected by the state legislature to fill the vacancy caused by Thomas W. Cobb's resignation. | November 7, 1828 – March 4, 1829 | 1782-1837 |
| 14 | 129 days | Charles B. Mitchel (O) | Democratic | Arkansas | Elected in the general election and later expelled from the Senate. | March 4, 1861 – July 11, 1861 | 1815-1864 |
| 15 | 143 days | Jeffrey Chiesa[2] | Republican | New Jersey | Appointed following the death of Frank Lautenberg and chose not to run in the special election. | June 10, 2013 – October 31, 2013 | 1965 |
| 16 | 144 days | Bob Krueger[1] | Democratic | Texas | Appointed following the appointment of Lloyd Bentsen as Secretary of the Treasury and was defeated in the special election. | January 21, 1993 – June 14, 1993 | 1935- |
| 17 | 144 days | Dixie Bibb Graves[3] (R) | Democratic | Alabama | Appointed following the appointment of Hugo Black as a Supreme Court Justice and later resigned. | August 20, 1937 – January 10, 1938 | 1882-1965 |
| 18 | 144 days | George R. Swift[3] | Democratic | Alabama | Appointed following the death of John H. Bankhead II. | June 15, 1946 – November 5, 1946 | 1887-1972 |
| 19 | 149 days | Sheila Frahm[1] | Republican | Kansas | Appointed following the resignation of Bob Dole and was defeated in the Republican primary. | June 11, 1996 – November 7, 1996 | 1945- |
| 20 | 152 days | Maryon Pittman Allen[3] | Democratic | Alabama | Appointed following the death of her husband James Allen and later lost the Democratic primary for the special election. | June 8, 1978 – November 7, 1978 | 1925-2018 |
| 21 | 165 days | Mo Cowan[2] | Democratic | Massachusetts | Appointed following the appointment of John Kerry as Secretary of State and chose not to run in the special election. | February 1, 2013 – July 16, 2013 | 1969- |
| 213 days | William Bellinger Bulloch | ||||||
| 22 | 215 days | Thomas A. Wofford | Democratic | South Carolina | Appointed following the resignation of Strom Thurmond and chose not to run in the special election. | April 5, 1956 – November 6, 1956 | 1908-1978 |
| 23 | 240 days | Joseph M. Terrell | |||||
| 24 | 242 days | B. B. Comer[3] | Democratic | Alabama | Appointed following the death of John H. Bankhead. | March 5, 1920 – November 2, 1920 | 1848-1927 |
| 25 | 247 days | William Stanley West | |||||
| 26 | 259 days | Nicholas F. Brady[1] | Republican | New Jersey | Appointed following the resignation of Harrison A. Williams and chose not to run in the special election. | April 12, 1982 – December 27, 1982 | 1930- |
| 27 | 262 days | John S. Cohen | |||||
| 274 days | Israel Pickens | ||||||
| 28 | 275 days | John C. Breckinridge (O) | Democratic | Kentucky | Elected in the general election and later expelled from the Senate. | March 4, 1861 – December 4, 1861 | 1821-1875 |
| 29 | 277 days | Robert M. Charlton | |||||
| 297 days | Francis S. White | ||||||
| 30 | 299 days | Waldo P. Johnson (O) | Democratic | Missouri | Elected in the general election and later expelled from the Senate. | March 17, 1861 – January 10, 1862 | 1817-1885 |
| 303 days | George S. Houston | ||||||
| 307 days | Luther Strange | ||||||
| 322 days | Luke Pryor | ||||||
| 327 days | Henry H. Chambers | ||||||
| 31 | 337 days | Patrick Walsh | Democratic | Georgia | Appointed to fill out the remainder of the term of Alfred H. Colquitt. | April 2, 1894 – March 3, 1895 | 1840-1899 |
| 32 | 340 days | William Blount (O) | Democratic-Republican | Tennessee | Appointed as Tennessee's first senator and was later expelled from the Senate. | August 2, 1796 – July 8, 1797 | 1749-1800 |
| 33 | 373 days | Hiram Rhodes Revels | Republican | Mississippi | Elected in a special election following Mississippi's readmission into the United States and later chose not to seek reelection. | February 23, 1870 – March 3, 1871 | 1827-1901 |
| 34 | 474 days | Louis Wigfall (O) | Democratic | Texas | Appointed to fill the vacancy created by James Pinckney Henderson's death and later expelled from the Senate. | December 5, 1859 – March 23, 1861 | 1816-1874 |
| 35 | 698 days | Harlan Mathews | Democratic | Tennessee | Appointed to fill the vacancy created by Al Gore's resignation and later chose not to seek reelection. | January 2, 1993 – December 1, 1994 | 1927-2014 |
| 36 | 762 days | Richard Nixon (AE) | Republican | California | Appointed following the resignation of Sheridan Downey to the seat he recently won the election for to gain seniority and later elected to the vice presidency. | December 1, 1950 – January 1, 1953 | 1913-1994 |
| 787 days | Donald Stewart | ||||||
| 813 days | William Kelly | ||||||
| 1,095 days | John Williams Walker | ||||||
| 1,100 days | William Wyatt Bibb | ||||||
| 1,108 days | Josiah Tattnall | ||||||
| 1,190 days | Jeremiah Clemens | ||||||
| 1,245 days | John Milledge | ||||||
| 37 | 1,413 days | Barack Obama (R) | Democratic | Illinois | Elected in the general election and later resigned after winning the 2008 presidential election. | January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008 | 1961- |
| 1,779 days | John Forsyth | ||||||
| 1,964 days | William H. Crawford | ||||||
House time
| Tenure | Name | Party affiliation | State | Reason for leaving | Dates of service | Lifespan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 day | Effingham Lawrence (O) | Democratic | Louisiana | See Effingham Lawrence | March 3, 1875 – March 4, 1875 | 1820-1878 |
| 2 | 35 days | Brenda Jones | Democratic | Michigan | Won special election and was defeated in Democratic primary. | November 29, 2018 – January 3, 2019 | 1959- |
| 3 | 39 days | James Mann[4] (D) | Democratic | Louisiana | Won in the general election and died in office. | July 18, 1868 – August 26, 1868 | 1822-1868 |
| 4 | 51 days | David Curson[5] | Democratic | Michigan | Won special election and did not seek reelection. | November 13, 2012 – January 3, 2013 | 1948- |
| 4 | 51 days | Shelley Sekula-Gibbs | Republican | Texas | Won special election and later lost in the Republican primary. | November 13, 2006 – January 3, 2007 | 1953- |
| 5 | 84 days | Nathaniel D. Wallace[4] | Democratic | Louisiana | Won special election and did not seek reelection. | December 9, 1886 – March 3, 1887 | 1845-1894 |
| 6 | 89 days | John W. Hunter | Democratic | New York | Won special election to fill James Humphrey's seat following his death and did not seek reelection. | December 4, 1866 to March 3, 1867 | 1807-1900 |
| 7 | 90 days | Alexander Boarman[4] | Liberal Republican | Louisiana | Won special election and lost reelection. | December 3, 1872 – March 3, 1873 | 1839-1916 |
| 7 | 90 days | Benjamin Flanders[4] | Unionist | Louisiana | Won special election and did not seek reelection. | December 3, 1862 – March 3, 1863 | 1816-1896 |
| 8 | 95 days | William Francis Strudwick | Federalist | North Carolina | Won a special election to follow Absalom Tatom and did not seek reelection. | November 28, 1796 – March 3, 1797 | 1765-1812 |
| 9 | 107 days | Robert L. Coffey (D) | Democratic | Pennsylvania | Won in the general election and died in office. | January 3, 1949 – April 20, 1949 | 1918-1949 |
| 10 | 118 days | J. Smith Young | Democratic | Louisiana | Won special election to fill John E. Leonard's seat following his death and did not seek reelection. | November 5, 1878 – March 3, 1879 | 1834-1916 |
| 11 | 121 days | Richard Alvin Tonry[4] (R) | Democratic | Louisiana | Won in the general election and later resigned. | January 3, 1977 – May 4, 1977 | 1935-2012 |
| 12 | 152 days | John William Reid (O) | Democratic | Missouri | Won in the general election and later expelled from the House. | March 4, 1861 – August 3, 1861 | 1821-1881 |
| 13 | 188 days | Jean Spencer Ashbrook | Republican | Ohio | Won in a special election to follow her husband John M. Ashbrook and later chose not to run for reelection. | June 29, 1982 – January 3, 1983 | 1934- |
| 14 | 207 days | James C. Alvord (D) | Whig | Massachusetts | Won in the general election and later died. | March 4, 1839 – September 27, 1839 | 1808-1839 |
| 14 | 207 days | Alton Waldon | Democratic | New York | Won in a special election to follow Joseph P. Addabbo and later lost in the Democratic primary. | June 10, 1986 – January 3, 1987 | 1936- |
| 214 days | William B. Spencer | ||||||
| 15 | 222 days | Larkin I. Smith (D) | Republican | Mississippi | Won in a special election to replace Trent Lott and died. | January 3, 1989 – August 13, 1989 | 1944-1989 |
| 16 | 226 days | Charles Djou | Republican | Hawaii | Won in a special election to replace Neil Abercrombie and later lost reelection. | May 22, 2010 – January 3, 2011 | 1970- |
| 228 days | W. Jasper Blackburn | ||||||
| 228 days | Michel Vidal | ||||||
| 17 | 241 days | James Davenport (D) | Federalist | Connecticut | Won in a special election to replace James Hillhouse and later died. | December 5, 1796 – August 3, 1797 | 1758-1797 |
| 18 | 245 days | Don Cazayoux | Democratic | Louisiana | Won in a special election to replace Richard Baker and later lost reelection. | May 3, 2008 – January 3, 2009 | 1964- |
| 246 days | James McCleery | ||||||
| 19 | 298 days | Walter Capps (D) | Democratic | California | Won in the general election and later died in office. | January 3, 1997 – October 28, 1997 | 1934-1997 |
| 20 | 304 days | Katie Hill (R) | Democratic | California | Won in the general election and later resigned. | January 3, 2019 – November 3, 2019 | 1987- |
| 21 | 358 days | Henry Latimer (AE) | Federalist | Delaware | Lost in the general election, but contested the results and was ruled as the victor causing a delayed inauguration and later elected to Senate. | February 14, 1794 – February 7, 1795 | 1752-1819 |
| 376 days | John E. Leonard | ||||||
| 22 | 382 days | Bill Janklow (R) | Democratic | South Dakota | Won in the general election and later resigned due to causing a fatal car crash.[6] | January 3, 2003 – January 20, 2004 | 1939-2012 |
| 23 | 383 days | Anthony Wayne (O) | Democratic | Georgia | Won in the general election, but seat was later ruled as vacant due to dispute over his residency. | March 4, 1791 – March 21, 1792 | 1745-1796 |
| 24 | 389 days | Trey Radel[7] (R) | Republican | Florida | Won in the general election and later resigned. | January 3, 2013 – January 27, 2014 | 1976- |
| 25 | 413 day | Vance McAllister (R)[7] | Republican | Louisiana | Won a special election to replace Rodney Alexander and later did not seek reelection. | November 16, 2013 – January 3, 2015 | 1974- |
| 417 days | Pierre Bossier | ||||||
| 26 | 425 days | George Allen | Republican | Virginia | Won a special election to replace D. French Slaughter Jr. and later chose not to seek reelection. | November 5, 1991 – January 3, 1993 | 1952- |
| 27 | 455 days | Absalom Tatom (R) | Democratic-Republican | North Carolina | Won in the general election and later resigned. | March 4, 1795 – June 1, 1796 | 1742-1802 |
| 464 days | George Luke Smith | ||||||
| 466 days | Michael Hahn | ||||||
| 475 days | Samuel Louis Gilmore | ||||||
| 28 | 478 days | Bob Turner | Republican | New York | Won a special election to replace Anthony Weiner and later did not seek reelection. | September 13, 2011 – January 3, 2013 | 1941- |
| 29 | 492 days | Eric Massa (R) | Democratic | New York | Won in the general election and later resigned. | January 3, 2009 – March 8, 2010 | 1969- |
| 512 days | Joseph P. Newsham | ||||||
| 30 | 522 days | Frank Ballance (R) | Democratic | North Carolina | Won in the general election and later resigned. | January 3, 2003 – June 8, 2004 | 1942-2019 |
| 31 | 528 days | George Partridge (R) | Pro-Administration | Massachusetts | Won in the general election and later resigned. | March 4, 1789 – August 14, 1790 | 1740-1828 |
| 32 | 531 days | Joseph F. Smith | Democratic | Pennsylvania | Won in a special election to follow Raymond Lederer and later lost in the Democratic primary. | July 21, 1981 – January 3, 1983 | 1920-1999 |
| 531 days | Charles Magill Conrad | ||||||
| 33 | 556 days | Karen Handel | Republican | Georgia | Won a special election to replace Tom Price and later lost reelection. | June 26, 2017 – January 3, 2019 | 1962- |
| 34 | 564 days | Mark Takai | Democratic | Hawaii | Won in the general election and later died in office. | January 3, 2015 – July 20, 2016 | 1967-2016 |
| 35 | 582 days | Kathy Hochul | Democratic | New York | Won a special election to replace Chris Lee and later lost reelection. | June 1, 2011 – January 3, 2013 | 1962- |
| 35 | 582 days | Benjamin Franklin Whittemore (R) | Republican | South Carolina | Won a special election following South Carolina's readmission into the Union and later resigned. | July 18, 1868 – February 24, 1870 | 1824-1894 |
| 36 | 594 days | Lovell Rousseau (R) | Unconditional Unionist | Kentucky | Elected in the general election, but resigned after being censured only to run in the special election and won to follow himself and later did not seek reelection. | March 4, 1865 – July 21, 1866; December 3, 1866 – March 3, 1867 | 1818-1869 |
| 37 | 600 days | William T. Redmond | Republican | New Mexico | Won a special election to replace Bill Richardson and later lost reelection. | May 13, 1997 – January 3, 1999 | 1955- |
| 38 | 602 days | John T. Deweese (R) | Republican | North Carolina | Won a special election following North Carolina's readmission into the Union and later resigned. | July 6, 1868 – February 28, 1870 | 1835-1906 |
| 39 | 609 days | Peter W. Barca | Democratic | Wisconsin | Won a special election to replace Les Aspin and later lost reelection. | May 4, 1993 – January 3, 1995 | 1955- |
| 40 | 614 days | Scott Murphy | Democratic | New York | Won a special election to replace Kirsten Gillibrand and later lost reelection. | April 29, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | 1970- |
| 40 | 614 days | Uriah Forrest (R) | Federalist | Maryland | Won in the general election and later resigned. | March 4, 1793 – November 8, 1794 | 1756-1805 |
| 41 | 644 days | Catherine Small Long | Democratic | Louisiana | Won a special election to follow her husband Gillis William Long and later chose not to run for reelection. | March 30, 1985 – January 3, 1987 | 1924-2019 |
| 661 days | John H. Overton | ||||||
| 42 | 674 days | Sam Brownback (AE) | Republican | Kansas | Won in the general election and later the special Senate election to follow Bob Dole. | January 3, 1995 – November 7, 1996 | 1956- |
| 43 | 730 days | Tim Scott (AE)(R) | Republican | South Carolina | Won in the general election, later won election to the Senate, and resigned a day before his House term ended to accept appointment to the Senate. | January 3, 2011 – January 2, 2013 | 1965- |
See also
Notes
- If one where to only count following her inauguration then she would only have served one day, but if tenure were counted she would have served 50 days
- Tenure: October 3, 1922 - November 22, 1922
- 1 if one were to count Felton's tenure rather than days served.
References
- "Who's On The Senate 'Short List'?". Archived from the original on 15 October 2017.
- "Mo Cowan, Jeff Chiesa join a long line of short-term senators".
- "The Shortest-Serving U.S. Senators in Alabama History".
- "The Shortest Tenures of Louisiana US Reps in History".
- "Jeff Chiesa Appointment: The Long History Of The Shortest Congressional Tenures".
- Goldstein, Richard (2012-01-12). "Bill Janklow, a Four-Term Governor of South Dakota, Dies at 72". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
- "Vance McAllister is nowhere near the shortest-serving lawmaker in congressional history".
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