List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service
Combined U.S. House and Senate time

List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service

Section Title: Combined U.S. House and Senate time
Table Section Text: None

Total tenure rank	Uninter­rupted tenure rank	Name	Party affiliation	Total tenure	Uninter­rupted tenure	Reason for leaving	Lifespan

1	1	John Dingell (H)	Democratic	59 years, 21 days	59 years, 21 days	Retired	1926–2019

2	2	Robert Byrd (H, S)	Democratic	57 years, 176 days	57 years, 176 days	Died	1917–2010

3	3	Carl Hayden (H, S)	Democratic	56 years, 319 days	56 years, 319 days	Retired	1877–1972

4	4	Daniel Inouye (H, S)	Democratic	53 years, 118 days	53 years, 118 days	Died	1924–2012

5	5	Jamie Whitten (H)	Democratic	53 years, 60 days	53 years, 60 days	Retired	1910–1995

6	6	John Conyers (H)	Democratic	52 years, 336 days	52 years, 336 days	Resigned	1929–

7	7	Carl Vinson (H)	Democratic	50 years, 61 days	50 years, 61 days	Retired	1883–1981

8	8	Emanuel Celler (H)	Democratic	49 years, 305 days	49 years, 305 days	Lost renomination	1888–1981

9	9	Sam Rayburn (H)	Democratic	48 years, 257 days	48 years, 257 days	Died	1882–1961

10	Sidney R. Yates (H, I)	Democratic	48 years, 0 days	N/A	Retired	1909–2000

11	12	Strom Thurmond (S, I)	Democratic, Republican	47 years, 159 days	46 years, 57 days	Resigned, retired	1902–2003

12	10	Wright Patman (H)	Democratic	47 years, 3 days	47 years, 3 days	Died	1893–1976

13	11	Ted Kennedy (S)	Democratic	46 years, 292 days	46 years, 292 days	Died	1932–2009

14	13	Don Young (H)	Republican	46 years, 53 days	46 years, 53 days	1933–

15	14	Charles Rangel (H)	Democratic	46 years, 0 days	46 years, 0 days	Retired	1930–

16	Joseph Gurney Cannon (H, I)	Republican	46 years, 0 days	N/A	Defeated, defeated, retired	1836–1926

17	15	Adolph J. Sabath (H)	Democratic	45 years, 247 days	45 years, 247 days	Died	1866–1952

18	16	J. Lister Hill (H, S)	Democratic	45 years, 142 days	45 years, 142 days	Retired	1894–1984

19	17	Thad Cochran (H, S)	Republican	45 years, 87 days	45 years, 87 days	Resigned	1937–

20	18	Patrick Leahy (S)	Democratic	44 years, 115 days	44 years, 115 days	1940–

21	19	Chuck Grassley (H, S)	Republican	44 years, 115 days	44 years, 115 days	1933–

22	20	George H. Mahon (H)	Democratic	44 years, 0 days	44 years, 0 days	Retired	1900–1985

23	21	Warren Magnuson (H, S)	Democratic	44 years, 0 days	44 years, 0 days	Defeated	1905–1989

24	22	Charles Edward Bennett (H)	Democratic	44 years, 0 days	44 years, 0 days	Retired	1910–2003

25	23	Justin Smith Morrill (H, S)	Whig, Republican	43 years, 299 days	43 years, 299 days	Died	1810–1898

26	William B. Allison (H, S, I)	Republican	43 years, 152 days	N/A	Retired, died	1829–1908

27	24	Charles Melvin Price (H)	Democratic	43 years, 110 days	43 years, 110 days	Died	1905–1988

28	25	Bill Young (H)	Republican	42 years, 288 days	42 years, 288 days	Died	1930–2013

29	26	Henry M. Jackson (H, S)	Democratic	42 years, 241 days	42 years, 241 days	Died	1912–1983

30	27	Ed Markey (H, S)	Democratic	42 years, 177 days	42 years, 177 days	1946–

31	Carter Glass (H, S, I)	Democratic	42 years, 157 days	N/A	Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, died	1858–1946

32	28	John W. McCormack (H)	Democratic	42 years, 58 days	42 years, 58 days	Retired	1891–1980

33	29	John Sparkman (H, S)	Democratic	42 years, 0 days	42 years, 0 days	Retired	1899–1985

34	30	Jack Brooks (H)	Democratic	42 years, 0 days	42 years, 0 days	Defeated	1922–2012

35	31	Orrin Hatch (S)	Republican	42 years, 0 days	42 years, 0 days	Retired	1934–

36	32	William R. Poage (H)	Democratic	41 years, 362 days	41 years, 362 days	Retired	1899–1987

37	33	Robert L. Doughton (H)	Democratic	41 years, 305 days	41 years, 305 days	Retired	1863–1954

38	34	Joseph W. Martin Jr. (H)	Republican	41 years, 305 days	41 years, 305 days	Lost renomination	1884–1968

39	35	Dave Obey (H)	Democratic	41 years, 276 days	41 years, 276 days	Retired	1938–

40	36	Clarence Cannon (H)	Democratic	41 years, 69 days	41 years, 69 days	Retired	1879–1964

41	37	John C. Stennis (S)	Democratic	41 years, 59 days	41 years, 59 days	Retired	1901–1995

42	38	Kenneth McKellar (H, S)	Democratic	41 years, 30 days	41 years, 30 days	Lost renomination	1869–1957

43	39	William Natcher (H)	Democratic	40 years, 240 days	40 years, 240 days	Died	1909–1994

44	Claude Pepper (H, S, I)	Democratic	40 years, 207 days	N/A	Lost renomination, died	1900–1989

45	40	William P. Frye (H, S)	Republican	40 years, 157 days	40 years, 157 days	Died	1830–1911

46	41	Richard Shelby (H, S)	Democratic, Republican	40 years, 115 days	40 years, 115 days	1934–

47	42	Jim Sensenbrenner (H)	Republican	40 years, 115 days	40 years, 115 days	1943–

48	43	Ted Stevens (S)	Republican	40 years, 10 days	40 years, 10 days	Defeated	1923–2010

49	44	Carl Curtis (H, S)	Republican	40 years, 0 days	40 years, 0 days	Retired	1905–2000

50	45	Peter W. Rodino (H)	Democratic	40 years, 0 days	40 years, 0 days	Retired	1909–2005

51	46	Pete Stark (H)	Democratic	40 years, 0 days	40 years, 0 days	Defeated	1931–

52	47	Tom Harkin (H, S)	Democratic	40 years, 0 days	40 years, 0 days	Retired	1939–

53	48	George Miller (H)	Democratic	40 years, 0 days	40 years, 0 days	Retired	1945–

54	49	Henry Waxman (H)	Democratic	40 years, 0 days	40 years, 0 days	Retired	1939–

55	50	Barbara Mikulski (H, S)	Democratic	40 years, 0 days	40 years, 0 days	Retired	1936–

56	Eugene Hale (H, S, I)	Republican	40 years, 0 days	N/A	Defeated, retired	1836–1918

57	Jennings Randolph (H, S, I)	Democratic	39 years, 364 days	N/A	Defeated, retired	1902–1998

58	51	Leslie C. Arends (H)	Republican	39 years, 362 days	39 years, 362 days	Retired	1895–1985

59	52	Daniel A. Reed (H)	Republican	39 years, 352 days	39 years, 352 days	Died	1875–1959

60	53	George W. Norris (H, S)	Republican, Independent	39 years, 305 days	39 years, 305 days	Defeated	1861–1944

61	54	John Taber (H)	Republican	39 years, 305 days	39 years, 305 days	Retired	1880–1965

62	55	William M. Colmer (H)	Democratic	39 years, 305 days	39 years, 305 days	Retired	1890–1980

63	56	Max Baucus (H, S)	Democratic	39 years, 34 days	39 years, 34 days	Appointed Ambassador to China	1941–

64	Samuel Smith (H, S, I)	Democratic-Republican, Democratic	39 years, 9 days	N/A	Retired	1752–1839

65	John L. McClellan (H, S, I)	Democratic	38 years, 329 days	N/A	Retired, died	1896–1977

66	57	Morris Sheppard (H, S)	Democratic	38 years, 145 days	38 years, 145 days	Died	1875–1941

67	58	Ron Wyden (H, S)	Democratic	38 years, 115 days	38 years, 115 days	1949–

68	59	Pat Roberts (H, S)	Republican	38 years, 115 days	38 years, 115 days	1936–

69	60	Chuck Schumer (H, S)	Democratic	38 years, 115 days	38 years, 115 days	1950–

70	61	Hal Rogers (H)	Republican	38 years, 115 days	38 years, 115 days	1937–

71	62	Chris Smith (H)	Republican	38 years, 115 days	38 years, 115 days	1953–

72	63	Fritz Hollings (S)	Democratic	38 years, 55 days	38 years, 55 days	Retired	1922–2019

73	64	Richard Russell Jr. (S)	Democratic	38 years, 9 days	38 years, 9 days	Died	1897–1971

74	John Sherman (H, S, I)	Oppositionist, Republican	38 years, 4 days	N/A	Appointed U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, appointed U.S. Secretary of State	1823–1900

75	65	Russell B. Long (S)	Democratic	38 years, 3 days	38 years, 3 days	Retired	1918–2003

76	66	Frederick H. Gillett (H, S)	Republican	38 years, 0 days	38 years, 0 days	Retired	1851–1935

77	67	Wilbur Mills (H)	Democratic	38 years, 0 days	38 years, 0 days	Retired	1909–1992

78	68	Dante Fascell (H)	Democratic	38 years, 0 days	38 years, 0 days	Retired	1917–1998

79	69	Robert H. Michel (H)	Republican	38 years, 0 days	38 years, 0 days	Retired	1923–2017

80	70	Nick Rahall (H)	Democratic	38 years, 0 days	38 years, 0 days	Defeated	1949–

81	71	Steny Hoyer (H)	Democratic	37 years, 344 days	37 years, 344 days	1939–

82	Robert Crosser (H, I)	Democratic	37 years, 305 days	N/A	Lost renomination	1874–1957

83	Bob Sikes (H, I)	Democratic	37 years, 290 days	N/A	Resigned, retired	1906–1994

84	72	Nathaniel Macon (H, S)	Anti-Administration, Democratic-Republican	37 years, 255 days	37 years, 255 days	Resigned	1757–1837

85	73	Henry Cabot Lodge (H, S)	Republican	37 years, 250 days	37 years, 250 days	Died	1850–1924

86	Alben W. Barkley (H, S, I)	Democratic	37 years, 74 days	N/A	Elected Vice President of the United States, died	1877–1956

87	74	Henry B. González (H)	Democratic	37 years, 60 days	37 years, 60 days	Retired	1916–2000

88	Francis E. Warren (S, I)	Republican	37 years, 6 days	N/A	Defeated, died	1844–1929

89	75	Dick Durbin (H, S)	Democratic	36 years, 115 days	36 years, 115 days	1944–

90	76	Marcy Kaptur (H)	Democratic	36 years, 115 days	36 years, 115 days	1946–

91	James Eastland (S, I)	Democratic	36 years, 83 days	N/A	Resigned	1904–1986

92	77	Joe Biden (S)	Democratic	36 years, 12 days	36 years, 12 days	Elected Vice President of the United States	1942–

93	78	John Murtha (H)	Democratic	36 years, 3 days	36 years, 3 days	Died	1932–2010

94	79	Henry L. Dawes (H, S)	Republican	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1816–1903

95	80	F. Edward Hébert (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1901–1979

96	81	Edward Boland (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1911–2001

97	82	William Broomfield (H)	Republican	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1922–2019

98	83	Dan Rostenkowski (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Defeated	1928–2010

99	84	Neal Edward Smith (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Defeated	1920–

100	85	Claiborne Pell (S)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1918–2009

101	86	Joseph M. McDade (H)	Republican	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1931–2017

102	87	Paul Sarbanes (H, S)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1933–

103	88	Pete Domenici (S)	Republican	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1932–2017

104	89	Ralph Regula (H)	Republican	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1924–2017

105	90	Chris Dodd (H, S)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1944–

106	91	Jim Oberstar (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Defeated	1934–2014

107	92	Richard Lugar (S)	Republican	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Lost renomination	1932–2019

108	93	Daniel Akaka (H, S)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1924–2018

109	94	Norm Dicks (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1940–

110	95	Dale Kildee (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1929–

111	96	Carl Levin (S)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1934–

112	97	Sander Levin (H)	Democratic	36 years, 0 days	36 years, 0 days	Retired	1931–

113	Shelby Moore Cullom (H, S, I)	Republican	36 years, 0 days	N/A	Retired	1829–1914

Sentence(s)

Jamie Whitten is the 5th Longest serving Congressman behind Daniel Inouye, Carl Hayden, Robert Byrd and John Dingell.
Jamie Whitten is the 5th Longest serving Congressman behind Daniel Inouye, Carl T. Hayden, Robert Byrd and John Dingell.
Whitten is the 5th Longest serving Congressman (House and/or Senate) behind Daniel Inouye, Carl T. Hayden, Robert Byrd and John Dingell.

final_sentence: Jamie Whitten is the 5th Longest serving Congressman behind Daniel Inouye, Carl Hayden, Robert Byrd and John Dingell.
final_sentence: Jamie Whitten is the 5th Longest serving Congressman behind Daniel Inouye, Carl T. Hayden, Robert Byrd and John Dingell.
final_sentence: Whitten is the 5th Longest serving Congressman (House and/or Senate) behind Daniel Inouye, Carl T. Hayden, Robert Byrd and John Dingell.