Richard J. Durbin headshot
At a Glance
Seat
U.S. Senator from Illinois
Born
November 21, 1944
Age 81
Phone
(202) 224-2152
Office
711 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510, Washington 20515
Congress Member Profile|U.S. Senator|Democrat|Illinois

Richard J. Durbin

Richard Joseph Durbin is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from the state of Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin is in his fifth Senate term and has served since 2005 as the Senate Democratic Whip and since 2025 as the Senate minority whip. He is the longest-serving Democratic whip since the position was established in 1913. Durbin chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2021 to 2025, and led the Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination hearings.

Source: WikipediaView full (CC BY-SA)
Voting Record — 851
Yes35%
No62%
Present0%
Not Voting3%
Party align93%
Cross-party6%
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District Map

Senate District (Statewide)

U.S. Census Bureau boundary data.
Richard J. Durbin headshot
Richard J. Durbin
U.S. SenatorDemocratIllinois
SoupScore
Richard J.'s ATmosphere Activity
20 recent posts · 129 sponsored · 356 cosponsored
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Recent ATmosphere posts, sponsorships, and cosponsorships.

The loss of four American service members in Lithuania during a training exercise is heartbreaking. My thoughts are especially with the Duenez family and Joliet community as they grieve the loss of Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., a son, a husband, and a father.
I sat down with IL members of NRF to discuss my bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act and the uncertainty Trump's tariffs are causing for their small businesses. I’ll continue to push against the harmful economic policies coming from the White House.
The Solicitor General represents the government before the Supreme Court. They’re supposed to be apolitical. John Sauer gave zero indication that he’d fit the bill.
BREAKING: Senate Republicans confirm Trump personal attorney John Sauer as Solicitor General, despite his refusal to commit to recusing himself from conflicts of interest AND his refusal to commit to abide by court orders.
BREAKING: The Senate Judiciary Committee just unanimously passed my bill. Now, on to the full Senate for consideration.
For years, Big Pharma has manipulated the patent system to keep prices sky high. Today, I introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Tillis to address abuses in pharmaceutical patents and help lower Rx drug prices by improving coordination between USPTO and FDA.
I teamed up with @robinkelly.house.gov to introduce the Federal Firearm Licensee Act to ensure people who shouldn’t have guns aren’t able to get them. Updating laws for licensed firearm dealers is one of many steps we must take to address the gun violence epidemic in our country.
We should not cede American leadership in research and technology to China by gutting our federal investment. I introduced legislation w/@repbillfoster.bsky.social to ensure our nation's scientists and researchers have access to funding that will improve our national security and create jobs.
Donald Trump’s phony trade war with Canada took a bipartisan hit in the Senate with the passage of the Kaine resolution. Trump makes excuses for Putin and declares Canada our real enemy. It's MAGA madness.
Republicans are trying to rewrite January 6, 2021. It was a DIRECT attack on our country and our democracy. I’m announcing a spotlight hearing honoring law enforcement who protected us and condemning Trump’s pardon of insurrectionists.
Buckle your seat belts America. Trump launched a global trade war by declaring his national sales tax. This tariff boondoggle will cost the average American family thousands of dollars a year. That’s a lot of eggs.
Rob Karr, President and CEO of IRMA, explains how swipe fees are hurting small businesses and consumers in his recent op-ed. I’m glad to have his support, and I’ll continue to advocate for my Credit Card Competition Act to lower costs for small businesses and families.
Millions of households receive LIHEAP funding to pay for utility bills. I support this program because it keeps Illinoisans safe and warm. Now, the Trump Admin fired its ENTIRE staff—crippling its ability to help Americans. It's cruel and irresponsible.
Today, I attended the National Restaurant Association’s annual conference to speak on my bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act and meet with members of National Restaurant Association. Swipe fees are hurting our small businesses and consumers. We must pass legislation to protect them.
With President Trump’s tariffs, American families will see higher prices on groceries, cars, gas, and American jobs will suffer. Instead of lowering the cost of living, President Trump is raising it.
Our workforce needs my Keep STEM Talent Act with Senator Mike Rounds. It would: ADDRESS green card backlogs. PROTECT U.S. workers. PERMIT dual intent. IMPOSE rigorous vetting. Plus, it’s supported by unions and STEM leaders.
President Trump is risking a recession with this national sales tax he calls tariffs—while needlessly alienating our closest allies. When American families see the price of goods rising, it’s going to create a negative economic force across this country.
I just introduced a bill to streamline the path to stay in the United States for international graduates of our nation’s STEM programs. We need their talents. It’s commonsense, and it’s bipartisan.
The good news: The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that FDA acted properly in rejecting fruit-, candy-, and dessert-flavored e-cigarettes popular with kids. The bad news: Trump and RFK Jr. reportedly fired most, if not all, of the FDA’s tobacco division yesterday.
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Voting History
851 total votes
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Recent roll calls with party-majority context so it is easier to scan how this member tends to vote.

DateBillQuestionPositionParty MajAlign?Result
2025-01-09S. 5 (119th)End filibuster to begin debateYESYESCloture on the Motion to Proceed Agreed to (84-9, 3/5 majority required)

Alignment stats consider only votes where a clear yes/no majority existed for the legislator's party. Cross-party marks divergence where the vote matched the opposite party majority. ↔ indicates cross-party divergence.

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