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U.S. Senator from Louisiana

John Kennedy

Republican · Louisiana

Former Louisiana State Treasurer, elected in 2016. Known for colorful quotes and sharp questioning in hearings. Former Democrat who switched to Republican. Focus on fiscal responsibility.

Record

Conservative Republican known for folksy-yet-sharp Senate hearing moments. Former state fiscal officer turned fiscal hawk. Strong advocate for Louisiana's energy and agricultural industries.

Legislative Record

Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)

  • S.5085 — A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to apply inflation adjustments to the additional hospital insurance tax on high income taxpayers. (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
  • S.5084 — A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to apply inflation adjustments to the base amount and adjusted base amount for purposes of determining taxable social security benefits. (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
  • S.4883 — A bill to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to increase the civil penalties that may be imposed under that Act. (Introduced, Jun 24, 2026)
    This bill increases civil penalties for violations of U.S. export control laws. Specifically, the bill increases the maximum statutory civil penalty for each violation of any regulation, order, or license issued under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) to $1.2 million or four times the…
  • S.4917 — Monitor Accountability Act (Introduced, Jun 24, 2026)
  • S.4850 — Diversity Jurisdiction Inflation Adjustment Act (Introduced, Jun 22, 2026)
  • S.4667 — Open Courts Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 2, 2026)
  • S.4622 — PATCH Act (Introduced, May 21, 2026)
  • S.4512 — Affordable Insulin Now Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 13, 2026)
    Affordable Insulin Now Act of 2026 This bill limits cost-sharing for insulin under private health insurance and establishes a program to provide insulin to individuals without insurance. Specifically, the bill caps cost-sharing under private health insurance for a month's supply of selected insulin…

Notable votes

  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 817 (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jul 29, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)

Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)

  • S.3101 — SAFE KIDS Act (Introduced, Jul 29, 2026)
  • S.5120 — A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand access to psychological and behavioral health services. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.5116 — A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the standards for accreditation of an institution of higher education to assess the institution's adoption of admissions practices that refrain from preferential treatment in admissions based on an applicant's relationship to alumni of, or donors to, the institution, to authorize a feasibility study on data collection, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.1723 — Equitable Access to School Facilities Act (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
  • S.5087 — Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
  • S.5023 — Ban Birth Tourism Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
  • S.4952 — Protecting American Taxpayers Act (Introduced, Jul 20, 2026)
  • S.5025 — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)

Voting analysis

John Kennedy chairs an appropriations subcommittee on energy and water and a banking subcommittee on economic policy. His defection record is made almost entirely of amendment votes, and among them is one on his own amendment.

11.1%
Votes against the Republican majority
216
Roll calls where a party majority formed
10 of 51
Rank among Senate Republicans, most defections first

A record written in amendments

He supported amendments from colleagues that the Republican majority rejected, opposed amendments it adopted, and voted for an amendment bearing his own name that the chamber turned down — the conference on one side, its own subcommittee chairman on the other. Almost none of this reaches final passage; the disagreements are settled, or not settled, before the bill itself is called.

The 10 most recent of 24 roll calls where John Kennedy voted against the Senate Republican majority.
Roll callDateOutcomeTheir vote
S.Con.Res. 33
Paul Amdt. No. 5378
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 5378 to S.Con.Res. 33 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Apr 23, 2026Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
S. 2296
Scott (FL) Amdt. No. 3535
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3535 to S.Amdt. 3748 to S. 2296 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Oct 9, 2025Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 3944
Mullin Amdt. No. 3412
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3412 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Aug 1, 2025Amendment Agreed toNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 3944
Johnson Amdt. No. 3428
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3428 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Aug 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 3944
Scott (FL) Amdt. No. 3113, as modified
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3113 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Aug 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 3944
Kennedy Amdt. No. 3414
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3414 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Aug 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 1
Lee Amdt. No. 2745
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 2745 to S.Amdt. 2360 to H.R. 1 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Jul 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
S.Con.Res. 7
Paul Amdt No. 999
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 999 to S.Con.Res. 7 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Feb 21, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 10545
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 10545 · roll call 118		Dec 21, 2024Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 82
Crapo Amdt. No. 3331
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3331 to H.R. 82 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Dec 20, 2024Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)

Both Louisiana seats

Louisiana returns two Republican senators, so the comparison here is between two individuals. Kennedy is the more frequent defector.

Among the 2 Republicans in the Louisiana delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 8.5%. John Kennedy is above that average at 11.1%.

What he legislates on

His filings are unusually technical, concentrating on the tax code's indexing rather than on headline policy: applying inflation adjustments to the additional hospital insurance tax on high earners, and to the thresholds determining how much of a taxpayer's social security benefit is taxed. A third increases civil penalties under export control law. These are the kinds of bills that change large amounts of money without changing any slogan.

Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. John Kennedy's cluster into: Law (3), Finance and Financial Sector (1).

686
Bills sponsored
1163
Bills cosponsored

Of the 8 most recent of those, 8 currently sit at Introduced.

Tenure and attendance

Kennedy reached the Senate late in the twenty-tens and occupies its middle tenure band. The tenure record shows no party change during his Senate service. He misses few votes.

First elected in 2017, now serving across 5 terms. John Kennedy falls in the mid cohort.

1.8%
Roll calls recorded as not voting
220
Roll calls eligible to vote on
4
Recorded as not voting

By the numbers

In the 119th Congress, John Kennedy has 686 bills sponsored, 1163 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.

Committee assignments

  • Senate Committee on Appropriations
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Senate Committee on the Budget
  • Senate Committee on the Judiciary
  • Senate Committee on Appropriations: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Senate Committee on Appropriations: Department of Defense
  • Senate Committee on Appropriations: Department of Homeland Security
  • Senate Committee on Appropriations: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
  • Senate Committee on Appropriations: Energy and Water Development (Chairman)
  • Senate Committee on Appropriations: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Economic Policy (Chairman)
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection

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