86th United States Congress

86th United States Congress
85th ← → 87th
United States Capitol (1956)
January 3, 1959 (1959-01-03) – January 3, 1961 (1961-01-03)
Members	96–100 senators 435–437 representatives
Senate majority	Democratic
Senate President	Richard Nixon (R)
House majority	Democratic
House Speaker	Sam Rayburn (D)
Sessions
1st: January 7, 1959 – September 15, 1959 2nd: January 6, 1960 – September 1, 1960

The 86th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1959, to January 3, 1961, during the last two years of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1950 United States census until Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as states in 1959. Then, the membership of the House temporarily increased to 437 (seating one member from each of those newly admitted states and leaving the apportionment of the other 435 seats unchanged); it would remain at 437 until reapportionment resulting from the 1960 census.

The Democrats maintained full control of Congress, with greatly increased majorities in both chambers.