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United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Standing committee of the U.S. Senate

Field	Value
name	Senate Judiciary Committee
type	standing
chamber	senate
congress	119th
status	active
formed	December 10, 1816
chair	Chuck Grassley
chair_party	R
chair_since	January 3, 2025
ranking_member	Dick Durbin
rm_party	D
rm_since	January 3, 2025
seats	22 members
majority1	R
majority1_seats	12
minority1	D
minority1_seats	10
policy_areas	Federal judiciary, civil procedure, criminal procedure, civil liberties, copyrights, patents, trademarks, naturalization, constitutional amendments, congressional apportionment, state and territorial boundary lines
oversight	Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, federal judicial nominations
counterpart	House Committee on the Judiciary
subcommittees
meeting_place	226 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
meeting_image	File:Dirksen226.jpg
meeting_img_size	265
website
chamber_rules	[Rule XXV.1.(m), Standing Rules of the Senate](https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-113sdoc18/pdf/CDOC-113sdoc18.pdf#page=31)
committee_rules	[Rules of Procedure U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary](https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/rules)

The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, and review pending legislation.

In addition, the Standing Rules of the Senate confer jurisdiction to the Senate Judiciary Committee in certain areas, such as considering proposed constitutional amendments and legislation related to federal criminal law, human rights law, immigration, intellectual property, antitrust law, and internet privacy.

History

Established in 1816 as one of the original standing committees in the United States Senate, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is one of the oldest and most influential committees in Congress. Its broad legislative jurisdiction has assured its primary role as a forum for the public discussion of social and constitutional issues. The committee is also responsible for oversight of key activities of the executive branch, and is responsible for the initial stages of the confirmation process of all judicial nominations for the federal judiciary.

Nominations

The committee considers presidential nominations for positions in the DOJ, including the attorney general and the director of the FBI, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the State Justice Institute, and certain positions in the Department of Commerce and DHS. It is also in charge of holding hearings and investigating judicial nominations to the Supreme Court, the U.S. court of appeals, the U.S. district courts, and the Court of International Trade.

If a majority on the committee votes to advance a nomination, the nominee is reported favorably to the whole Senate, which can vote by simple majority to confirm the nominee.

Oversight

The Judiciary Committee's oversight of the DOJ includes all of the agencies under the DOJ's jurisdiction, such as the FBI. It also has oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Members, 119th Congress

;(January 3, 2025 – January 3, 2027) Main article: 119th United States Congress

;

Majority	Minority

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Mike Lee (R-UT)	Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Border Security and Immigration	John Cornyn (R-TX)	Alex Padilla (D-CA)
The Constitution	Eric Schmitt (R-MO)	Peter Welch (D-VT)
Crime and Counterterrorism	Josh Hawley (R-MO)	Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights	Ted Cruz (R-TX)	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Intellectual Property	Thom Tillis (R-NC)	Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Committee leadership

Chairs

Name	Party	State	Start	End
	Democratic-Republican	Vermont	1816	1817
	Democratic-Republican	Kentucky	1817	1818
	Federalist	Rhode Island	1818	1819
	Democratic-Republican	South Carolina	1819	1823
	Democratic-Republican	New York	1823	1828
	Jacksonian	Georgia	1828	1829
	Democratic-Republican	Kentucky	1829	1831
	Jacksonian	New York	1831	1832
	Jacksonian	Pennsylvania	1832	1833
	Anti-Jacksonian	Delaware	1833	1836
	Jacksonian	Tennessee	1836	1838
	Democratic	New Jersey	1838	1841
	Whig	Georgia	1841	1845
	Democratic	Arkansas	1845	1847
	Democratic	South Carolina	1847	1857
	Democratic	Delaware	1857	1861
	Republican	Illinois	1861	1872
	Republican	Iowa	1872
	Republican	Vermont	1872	1879
	Democratic	Ohio	1879	1881
	Republican	Vermont	1881	1891
	Republican	Massachusetts	1891	1893
	Democratic	Alabama	1893	1895
	Republican	Massachusetts	1895	1904
	Republican	Connecticut	1904	1905
	Republican	Wyoming	1905	1912
	Democratic	Texas	1912	1919
	Republican	Minnesota	1919	1923
	Republican	Connecticut	1923	1924
	Republican	Iowa	1924	1926
	Republican	Nebraska	1926	1933
	Democratic	Arizona	1933	1941
	Democratic	Indiana	1941	1945
	Democratic	Nevada	1945	1947
	Republican	Wisconsin	1947	1949
	Democratic	Nevada	1949	1953
	Republican	North Dakota	1953	1955
	Democratic	West Virginia	1955	1956
	Democratic	Mississippi	1956	1978
	Democratic	Massachusetts	1978	1981
	Republican	South Carolina	1981	1987
	Democratic	Delaware	1987	1995
	Republican	Utah	1995	2001
When the Senate convened in January 2001 17 days before President George W. Bush was inaugurated, there was a 50	50 split between Democrats and Republicans with Vice President Al Gore as a tiebreaking vote.	Democratic	Vermont	2001
	Republican	Utah	2001
	Democratic	Vermont	2001	2003
	Republican	Utah	2003	2005
	Republican	Pennsylvania	2005	2007
	Democratic	Vermont	2007	2015
	Republican	Iowa	2015	2019
	Republican	South Carolina	2019	2021
	Democratic	Illinois	2021	2025
	Republican	Iowa	2025	present

Ranking members

Party	State	Start	End
Democratic	Nevada	1947	1949
Republican	Wisconsin	1949	1953
Democratic	Nevada	1953	1955
Republican	Wisconsin	1955	1963
Republican	Illinois	1963	1969
Republican	Nebraska	1969	1976
Republican	South Carolina	1977	1981
Democratic	Delaware	1981	1987
Republican	South Carolina	1987	1993
Republican	Utah	1993	1995
Democratic	Delaware	1995	1997
Democratic	Vermont	1997	2001
Republican	Utah	2001	2003
Democratic	Vermont	2003	2007
Republican	Pennsylvania	2007	2009
Republican	Alabama	2009	2011
Republican	Iowa	2011	2015
Democratic	Vermont	2015	2017
Democratic	Illinois	2017	2021
Republican	Iowa	2021	2023
Republican	South Carolina	2023	2025
Democratic	Illinois	2025	present

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

;(January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025) Main article: 118th United States Congress

;

Majority	Minority

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)	Mike Lee (R-UT)
The Constitution	Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (until September 29, 2023)
Laphonza Butler (D-CA) (from October 17, 2023)	Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism	Cory Booker (D-NJ)	Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)	John Kennedy (R-LA)
Human Rights and the Law	Jon Ossoff (D-GA)	Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety	Alex Padilla (D-CA)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Intellectual Property	Chris Coons (D-DE)	Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	Josh Hawley (R-MO)

117th Congress

;(January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023) Main article: 117th United States Congress

url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members	title=Members	website=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary	language=en	access-date=2019-09-25}}	Minority

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)	Mike Lee (R-UT)
The Constitution	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism	Cory Booker (D-NJ)	Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)	John Kennedy (R-LA)
Human Rights and the Law	Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)	Josh Hawley (R-MO)
Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety	Alex Padilla (D-CA)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Intellectual Property	Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Chris Coons (D-DE)	Ben Sasse (R-NE)

116th Congress

;(January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021) Main article: 116th United States Congress

Majority	Minority

;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Mike Lee (R-UT)	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Border Security and Immigration	John Cornyn (R-TX)	Dick Durbin (D-IL)
The Constitution	Ted Cruz (R-TX)	Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Crime and Terrorism	Josh Hawley (R-MO)	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Intellectual Property	Thom Tillis (R-NC)	Chris Coons (D-DE)
Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts	Ben Sasse (R-NE)	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

115th Congress

;(January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019) Main article: 115th United States Congress

|access-date = February 12, 2021 |access-date = February 12, 2021

Majority	Minority

In January 2018, the Democratic minority had their number of seats increase from 9 to 10 upon the election of Doug Jones (D-AL), changing the 52–48 Republican majority to 51–49. On January 2, 2018, Al Franken, who had been a member of the committee, resigned from the Senate following accusations of sexual misconduct.

;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Mike Lee (R-UT)	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Border Security and Immigration	John Cornyn (R-TX)	Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Crime and Terrorism	Lindsey Graham (R-SC)	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts	Ben Sasse (R-NE)	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) (from January 9, 2018)
Chris Coons (D-DE) (until January 9, 2018)
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Jeff Flake (R-AZ)	Chris Coons (D-DE) (from January 9, 2018)
Al Franken (D-MN) (until January 2, 2018)
The Constitution	Ted Cruz (R-TX)	Mazie Hirono (D-HI) (from January 9, 2018)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) (until January 9, 2018)

114th Congress

;(January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017) Main article: 114th United States Congress

|access-date = February 13, 2021

Majority	Minority

;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Mike Lee (R-UT)	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Crime and Terrorism	Lindsey Graham (R-SC)	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Immigration and the National Interest	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)	Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts	Ted Cruz (R-TX)	Chris Coons (D-DE)
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Jeff Flake (R-AZ)	Al Franken (D-MN)
The Constitution	John Cornyn (R-TX)	Dick Durbin (D-IL)

113th Congress

;(January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015) Main article: 113th United States Congress

|access-date = February 13, 2021

Majority	Minority

;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)	Mike Lee (R-UT)
Bankruptcy and the Courts	Chris Coons (D-DE)	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Crime and Terrorism	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)	Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Immigration, Refugees and Border Security	Chuck Schumer (D-NY)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Oversight, Federal Rights and Agency Action	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Al Franken (D-MN)	Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
The Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights	Dick Durbin (D-IL)	Ted Cruz (R-TX)

112th Congress

;(January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013) Main article: 112th United States Congress

|access-date = February 13, 2021

Majority	Minority

;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Administrative Oversight and the Courts	Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Herb Kohl (D-WI)	Mike Lee (R-UT)
Crime and Terrorism	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)	Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Immigration, Refugees and Border Security	Chuck Schumer (D-NY)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Privacy, Technology and the Law	Al Franken (D-MN)	Tom Coburn (R-OK)
The Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights	Dick Durbin (D-IL)	Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

111th Congress

;(January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011) Main article: 111th United States Congress

|access-date = February 13, 2021 |access-date = February 13, 2021

Majority	Minority

;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Administrative Oversight and the Courts	Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Herb Kohl (D-WI)	Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Crime and Drugs	Arlen Specter (D-PA)	Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Human Rights and the Law	Dick Durbin (D-IL)	Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Immigration, Refugees and Border Security	Chuck Schumer (D-NY)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Terrorism and Homeland Security	Ben Cardin (D-MD)	Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
The Constitution	Russ Feingold (D-WI)	Tom Coburn (R-OK)

References

[https://www.senate.gov/general/committee_membership/committee_memberships_SSJU.htm U.S. Senate: Committee on the Judiciary -- Committee Membership List]
"Jurisdiction". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
"Senate Committee on the Judiciary". GovTrack.
(August 15, 2016). "Guide to Senate Records: Chapter 13 Judiciary 1947-1968". National Archives.
"History".
(January 26, 2022). "How Republicans Can Block Stephen Breyer's Replacement".
{{USBill. 119. SRes. 16, {{USBill. 119. SRes. 38 (119th Congress)
{{USBill. 119. SRes. 17 (119th Congress)
(February 3, 2025). "Grassley, Durbin Announce Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Assignments for the 119th Congress". Committee on the Judiciary.
In June 2001, Republican Jim Jeffords declared himself an Independent and caucused with the Democrats, giving the Democrats majority control.
{{USBill. 118. SRes. 30 (118th Congress)
{{USBill. 118. SRes. 31 (118th Congress)
(October 17, 2023). "Majority Leader Schumer Announces New Senate Democratic Committee Assignments".
{{USBill. 118. SRes. 926
"Members".

Info: Wikipedia Source

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