The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Releases 119th Congress’ Voting Record: Most Devastating Congress in Our 76-Year History
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2026
Contact: [email protected]
WASHINGTON — Today the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released its 2026 Congressional Voting Record — a review of the 119th Congress’ votes on civil rights issues. The Voting Record, which The Leadership Conference has released since 1969, showed this congress was one of the most harmful to our rights in the 76-year history of the organization, especially for people of color, immigrants, religious minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community.
“From the day its members were sworn in last year, a majority of the 119th Congress abdicated their responsibilities as an independent branch of government. They turned a blind eye to their constituents’ needs and demands, as well as this administration’s abuses of power, violations of civil and human rights, corruption and cruelty. Too many served corrupt overreach and the interests of billionaires over those of working people,” said Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference. “This congress began with H.R. 1, the president’s ‘Big Ugly Bill,’ which slashed health care and food assistance in favor of violating the due process and civil rights of immigrants and putting taxpayers’ money in the pockets of billionaires through tax breaks. It presided over some of the longest government shutdowns in history, resulting in months of lost wages for workers. Too many elected leaders failed to intervene when the administration ignored acts of prior congresses and dismantled critical work in the Department of Education, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among others. Elon Musk’s DOGE decimated our government and violated our privacy rights simultaneously.
“This congress will leave a permanent stain on our constitutional history and require us to fight for a Third Reconstruction of our democracy. The Leadership Conference was created to usher in the Second Reconstruction that fought for and won critical civil rights laws and government programs to create equal opportunity and protect everyone’s rights and freedoms. The 119th Congress has not stood by the advances of the First Reconstruction which ended slavery and enshrined fundamental rights through an amended Constitution this administration aggressively seeks to unravel. This onslaught of efforts to undermine voting rights and threaten the very existence of civil rights advocacy and free speech is outrageous because it is not unprecedented. This congress has chosen the dark past over the responsibility to brighten our shared future. Americans are demanding bold change for a future that is diverse and where rights and freedoms are protected for a third time. We know because we asked them. They want health care over ICE, voting rights protected, a Supreme Court with term limits, and an economy that works for everyone. We’re committed to building what the 119th Congress attacked: an America as good as its ideals.”
The Voting Record examined 24 House and 23 Senate votes taken across both sessions of the 119th Congress from January 2025 through September 2026. It addresses civil rights issues including voting rights, immigration, economic justice, health care, key judicial and executive branch nominations, LGBTQ+ equity, and more. Overall, 158 House members and 44 senators (including several members who did not serve out an entire term) supported our positions on more than 90 percent of the votes included in the Voting Record.
The Leadership Conference also recently released its fifth annual Civil Rights Monitor, showing broad support among voters across race, ethnicity, and party for civil rights priorities, including secure voting rights, a Supreme Court with term-limits, and an economy that works for everyone. Specifically, 54% of voters back the idea of a systemic, constitutional, and cultural overhaul to secure a robust multiracial democracy, with 32% strongly supporting it. The Civil Rights Monitor shows a record of American values and attitudes on human rights. This is a national survey of 1,000 likely voters, conducted by phone using professional interviewers from August 23 to September 6, 2026.
The Leadership Conference’s 2026 Congressional Voting Record is available online here.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
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