List of LGBT members of the United States Congress

This is a list of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans in the U.S. Congress. As of January 2019, there were ten openly LGBTQ members of the 116th Congress – all Democrats.[1] This list only includes people who are openly LGBTQ or were outed in obituaries. Current members of Congress are shaded in gray. There has never been an openly transgender member of Congress.

Senate

Photo	Senator (lifespan)	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Harris Wofford (1926–2019)	Democratic	Pennsylvania	May 8, 1991	January 3, 1995	Married another man in 2016[2]
	Tammy Baldwin (born 1962)	Democratic	Wisconsin	January 3, 2013	present	First openly LGBT Senator[3]
	Kyrsten Sinema (born 1976)	Democratic	Arizona	January 3, 2019	present	First openly bisexual Senator[4]

House of Representatives

Photo	Representative (lifespan)	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Stewart McKinney (1931–1987)	Republican	Connecticut	January 3, 1971	May 7, 1987	Died of AIDS in 1987. Outed as bisexual in obituary[5][6][7][8][9]
	Robert Bauman (born 1937)	Republican	Maryland	August 21, 1973	January 3, 1981	Outed as gay while in office (1980)[10]
	Barbara Jordan (1936–1996)	Democratic	Texas	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1979	Outed in obituary[11]
	Gerry Studds (1937–2006)	Democratic	Massachusetts	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1997	First member of Congress to come out as gay in office, during the 1983 congressional page sex scandal[12] First openly gay member of Congress to be reelected after outing
	Jon Hinson (1942–1995)	Republican	Mississippi	January 3, 1979	April 13, 1981	Outed as gay while in office (1980)[13]
	Barney Frank (born 1940)	Democratic	Massachusetts	January 3, 1981	January 3, 2013	Came out as gay while in office (1987) First member of Congress in a same-sex marriage (2012)[14][15]
	Steve Gunderson (born 1951)	Republican	Wisconsin	January 3, 1981	January 3, 1997	Outed on the floor of the House (1994) First openly gay Republican to be reelected after outing[16][17]
	Jim Kolbe (born 1942)	Republican	Arizona	January 3, 1985	January 3, 2007	Came out as gay while in office, after voting for the Defense of Marriage Act (1996) First openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention[18][19][20]
	Michael Huffington (born 1947)	Republican	California	January 3, 1993	January 3, 1995	Came out after serving in Congress (1998) First self-identified bisexual member of Congress[21] Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from California
	Mark Foley (born 1954)	Republican	Florida	January 3, 1995	September 29, 2006	Came out in office, during the 2006 congressional page scandal[22]
	Tammy Baldwin (born 1962)	Democratic	Wisconsin	January 3, 1999	January 3, 2013	First openly gay non-incumbent elected to Congress First openly gay woman in Congress[3] Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
	Mike Michaud (born 1955)	Democratic	Maine	January 3, 2003	January 3, 2015	Came out as gay while in office (2013)[23][24] Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Maine
	Jared Polis (born 1975)	Democratic	Colorado	January 3, 2009	January 3, 2019	Openly gay First same-sex parent in Congress (2011)[25] Retired to run successfully for Governor of Colorado
	Aaron Schock (born 1981)	Republican	Illinois	January 3, 2009	March 31, 2015	Came out as gay in 2020[26] Resigned due to a scandal over government and campaign funds
	David Cicilline (born 1961)	Democratic	Rhode Island	January 3, 2011	present	Openly gay
	Sean Maloney (born 1966)	Democratic	New York	January 3, 2013	present	Openly gay
	Mark Pocan (born 1964)	Democratic	Wisconsin	January 3, 2013	present	Openly gay First gay Member of Congress to replace another gay Member of Congress (Tammy Baldwin) First non-incumbent elected to Congress in a same-sex marriage
	Kyrsten Sinema (born 1976)	Democratic	Arizona	January 3, 2013	January 3, 2019	First openly bisexual member of Congress[27][28] Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from Arizona
	Mark Takano (born 1960)	Democratic	California	January 3, 2013	present	Openly gay[29][30] First openly gay person of color elected to Congress.[31]
	Angie Craig (born 1972)	Democratic	Minnesota	January 3, 2019	present	Openly gay
	Sharice Davids (born 1980)	Democratic	Kansas	January 3, 2019	present	Openly gay[32] First openly gay woman of color elected to Congress.
	Katie Hill (born 1987)	Democratic	California	January 3, 2019	November 1, 2019	Openly bisexual[33] Resigned in 2019 amid allegations of improper relationships[34]
	Chris Pappas (born 1980)	Democratic	New Hampshire	January 3, 2019	present	Openly gay[35]

See also

• Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus
• List of the first LGBT holders of political offices in the United States

References

1. Dylan Stableford; Christopher Wilson (January 3, 2019). "Most diverse Congress in U.S. history arrives for work in Washington". Yahoo News. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
2. Wofford, Harris (April 23, 2016). "Finding love again, this time with a man". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2016. Too often, our society seeks to label people by pinning them on the wall – straight, gay or in between. I don't categorize myself based on the gender of those I love. I had a half-century of marriage with a wonderful woman, and now am lucky for a second time to have found happiness.
3. "Tammy Baldwin: Openly gay lawmaker could make history in Wisconsin U.S. Senate race". Chicago Tribune. October 19, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
4. "Kyrsten Sinema Makes History As First Openly Bisexual Person Sworn In To Senate". The Huffington Post. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
5. "AIDS Makes Another Chilling Advance, Claiming the Life of a Congressman". People. May 25, 1987. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
6. Houston, Paul (May 8, 1987). "Connecticut's McKinney, GOP Liberal, Dies of AIDS". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
7. Kimmey, Samantha (December 20, 2012). "Rep. Barney Frank Comments on Scalia, Prostitution, Marijuana and More". The Raw Story. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
8. "Congressman Killed by AIDS Led Secret Life, Gay Man Claims". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. August 23, 1989. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
9. May, Clifford D. (May 9, 1987). "Friends Say McKinney Had Homosexual Sex". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
10. Bauman, Robert (August 1986). The Gentleman from Maryland: The Conscience of a Gay Conservative. Arbor House. ISBN 978-0877956860.
11. "Barbara Jordan · Big Lives: Profiles of LGBT African Americans · OutHistory.org: It's About Time". OutHistory.org. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
12. "Housecleaning". Time. July 25, 1983.
13. "Jon Hinson, 53, Congressman And Then Gay-Rights Advocate". The New York Times. July 26, 1995. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
14. O'Keefe, Ed (December 3, 2012). "When Barney Frank announced he was 'coming out of the room' (er... the closet)". The Washington Post.
15. "DC's Most Influential Gay Couple Calls It Quits". The Tuscaloosa News. July 3, 1998. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
16. Bergling, Tim (May 11, 2004). "Closeted in the capital: they're powerful, Republican, and gay. Will the marriage battle finally get them to come out to their bosses?". The Advocate. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
17. Bierbauer, Charles (November 28, 1997). "Gunderson Leaves 'Increasingly Polarized' House". CNN. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
18. Dunlap, David W. (August 3, 1996). "A Republican Congressman Discloses He Is a Homosexual". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
19. Campbell, Julia (August 1, 2000). "Openly Gay Congressman Addresses Convention". ABC News.
20. Eaklor, Vicki Lynn (2008). Queer America: a GLBT history of the 20th century. ABC-CLIO. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-313-33749-9.
21. King, Ryan James (May 22, 2006). "Michael Huffington: The long-awaited Advocate interview". The Advocate. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
22. "Foley lawyer makes statement". CNN. October 2, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
23. "Michaud: 'I haven't changed. I'm Mike.'". The Bangor Daily News. November 5, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
24. "Yes, I'm gay, Michaud says. Now let's get our state back on track". Portland Press Herald. November 4, 2013.
25. Parkinson, John (September 30, 2011). "House Democrat Jared Polis Becomes First Openly Gay Parent in Congress". ABC News. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
26. Coleman, Justin (March 5, 2020). "Former GOP Rep. Aaron Schock comes out as gay". The Hill. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
27. O'Dowd, Peter (January 1, 2013). "Sinema, First Openly Bisexual Member Of Congress, Represents 'Changing Arizona'". NPR. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
28. Roig-Franzia, Manuel (January 2, 2013). "Kyrsten Sinema: A success story like nobody else's". The Washington Post. Phoenix, Arizona. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
29. Crary, David. "Record number of gays seeking seats in Congress". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
30. Candido, Sergio N. (October 29, 2012). "Top 5 Gay National Races". South Florida Gay News. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
31. Anderson-Minshall, Diane (November 7, 2012). "Mark Takano Becomes First LGBT Person of Color in Congress". The Advocate.
32. "Sharice Davids makes history: Kansas' 1st gay rep, 1st Native American woman in Congress". Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
33. "Bisexual candidate Katie Hill hopes to be part of Democrats' 'blue wave'". NBC. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
34. LeBlanc, Paul. "Rep. Katie Hill announces resignation amid allegations of improper relationships with staffers". CNN. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
35. "Democrat Chris Pappas Becomes New Hampshire's 1st Openly Gay Member Of Congress". WBUR. Retrieved November 7, 2018.