Thursday, January 3, 2013 marked the official start of the 113th Congressional Session and swearing in of new Members of Congress. The House of Representatives will have 233 Republicans, 200 Democrats, and 2 vacancies – Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL-2) stepped down after winning reelection and Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC-1) was appointed to the Senate to fill the seat of Sen. Jim DeMint (R) who recently resigned. The United States Senate will have a Democrat majority with 53 Democrats, 45 Republicans, and 2 independents that will caucus with the Democrats.

There are 82 new Members of the House of Representatives, including 47 Democrats and 35 Republicans. The United States Senate welcomed 14 new Senators sworn into office: 9 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 1 independent (who will be caucusing with the Democrats). New Senators include Hawaii’s Brian Schatz, who replaces the late Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI).

The 113th Congress will have more women serving as voting members than any other time, including 78 in the House (58 Democrats and 20 Republicans) and 20 in the Senate (16 Democrats and 4 Republicans). Additionally, the United States Senate for the first time will have a majority of Senators (52) who previously served in the House of Representatives.