U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
Sheldon Whitehouse
Democrat · Rhode Island
Former U.S. Attorney and state AG, serving since 2007. Climate champion who has given 300+ Senate speeches on climate change. Judiciary Committee member focused on dark money.
Record
Strong progressive. Delivered 300+ Senate floor speeches on climate change since 2012. Leading investigator of dark money influence and Supreme Court ethics. Former federal prosecutor focusing on accountability.
Legislative Record
Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)
- S.5173 — A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat tax penalties as assessable in the same manner as taxes, to provide notice requirements for certain penalties, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
- S.5075 — Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
- S.5076 — Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
- S.5011 — Curtailing Executive Overcompensation (CEO) Act (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
- S.4972 — Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 14, 2026)
- S.4819 — Lifeline for First Responders Act (Introduced, Jun 17, 2026)
- S.4571 — Tropospheric Ozone Research Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 19, 2026)
- S.4404 — No Passes for Polluters Act of 2026 (Introduced, Apr 27, 2026)
Notable votes
- Voted Nay on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 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 Nay on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Yea on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Yea on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Yea on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Yea on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
- Voted Yea on S. 2 — Hirono Amdt. No. 5506 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)
- S.5201 — A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or receiving firearms, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
- S.5170 — A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to remove carbon dioxide directly from ambient air or seawater, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 29, 2026)
- S.4472 — Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
- S.5108 — A bill to protect and expand nationwide access to assisted reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
- S.5071 — Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
- S.5042 — Social Security 2100 Act (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
- S.726 — Ethan's Law (Introduced, Jul 20, 2026)
- S.5019 — Disclosure of Tax Havens and Offshoring Act (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
Voting analysis
Sheldon Whitehouse is ranking member of the environment and public works committee and sits ex officio on all four of its subcommittees, so no part of that jurisdiction passes without him on the minority side of it. Environmental protection also leads the subjects his own bills are classified under.
Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Sheldon Whitehouse's cluster into: Environmental Protection (2), Finance and Financial Sector (1), Taxation (1), Transportation and Public Works (1).
Two departures, no more
He is among the two or three least likely Democratic senators to leave the caucus position, and the record bears it out: one bill he voted to pass when the caucus did not, and one Democratic amendment he voted down while the caucus carried it. That is the entire list.
| Roll call | Date | Outcome | Their vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.R. 7148 H.R. 7148, as Amended On Passage of the Bill H.R. 7148 · roll call 119 | Jan 30, 2026 | Bill Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R. 7888 Durbin Amdt No. 1841 as Modified On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1841 to H.R. 7888 (No short title on file) · roll call 118 | Apr 19, 2024 | Amendment Rejected | Nay (party: Yea) |
Above a very low bar
Rhode Island returns two Democrats whose rates are both close to the floor of this measure. Whitehouse sits above the pair's average, but the average itself is so small that the comparison describes a difference of a handful of votes.
Among the 2 Democrats in the Rhode Island delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 0.7%. Sheldon Whitehouse is above that average at 0.9%.
What he legislates on
Beyond the environment committee he chairs the narcotics control caucus and holds senior standing on the commission on security and cooperation in Europe. The bills gather around money and institutional accountability: treating tax penalties as assessable in the same manner as taxes, removing foreign money from elections, biennial appointments and term limits for the Supreme Court, curtailing executive overcompensation, and fairness in medical bankruptcy.
Of the 8 most recent of those, 8 currently sit at Introduced.
Tenure and attendance
He came to the Senate in the second half of the two-thousands after serving as a United States attorney and then state attorney general. His absences are modest.
First elected in 2007, now serving across 10 terms. Sheldon Whitehouse falls in the veteran cohort.
By the numbers
In the 119th Congress, Sheldon Whitehouse has 777 bills sponsored, 4913 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.
Committee assignments
- Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Senior member)
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Ranking Member)
- Senate Committee on Finance
- Senate Committee on the Budget
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control (Chairman)
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Transportation and Infrastructure (Ex Officio)
- Senate Committee on Finance: Health Care
- Senate Committee on Finance: International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
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