List of youngest members of the United States Congress

The following are historical lists of the youngest members of the United States Congress, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. These members would be the equivalent to the "Baby of the House" in the parliaments of Commonwealth countries; the U.S. Congress does not confer a similar title upon its youngest members.

Minimum ages are written into Article One of the United States Constitution, which bars persons under the age of 25 from serving in the House and persons under the age of 30 from serving in the Senate. In the political culture of the United States, the U.S. House of Representatives is not an entry-level political position; most Members of Congress have experience in state and local politics prior to their election to the federal Congress in Washington, D.C.

In the 115th Congress, which began on January 3, 2017, the youngest member of the United States House of Representatives is Elise Stefanik (R-New York 21), who was born on (1984-07-02) July 2, 1984 and first elected in 2014. She is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, and replaces Patrick Murphy (D-Florida 18) who was the youngest member of the 113th Congress and subsequently the second-youngest member of the 114th.

The youngest U.S. senator is 39-year-old Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), who was elected in 2014. He replaces Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) who was the youngest senator of the 113th Congress. The second youngest senator now is Cory Gardner (R-Colorado), at age 42, elected in 2014 like Sen. Cotton.

The average age of Senators is now higher than in the past. In the 19th century, several state legislatures elected Senators in their late twenties in violation of the Constitutional minimum age of 30; Henry Clay, elected at age 29 in 1806, is the most notable example.