Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Relations of the United States with foreign nations generally, treaties and executive agreements, the diplomatic service, foreign economic, military, technical and humanitarian assistance, foreign loans, the United Nations and other international organizations, intervention abroad, and declarations of war.

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has 22 members, made up of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. James E. Risch chairs it. Jeanne Shaheen is the ranking member, which is the senior post held by the minority party. Senate committee seats are held for the length of a senator term, so membership turns over more slowly than in the House. The membership below is generated from the roster this site maintains against clerk.house.gov and senate.gov.

Jurisdiction source: Senate Rule XXV

How business reaches this committee

Senate Rule XXV lists the subjects above and assigns them here. A bill introduced in the Senate is referred to the committee whose Rule XXV jurisdiction covers its main subject, so measures on these topics start with this committee. From there it can hold hearings, amend the text, report the bill to the full Senate, or leave it alone, which is what happens to most bills.

Subcommittees

The committee divides its work among 7 subcommittees:

  • Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy
  • Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy
  • Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation
  • Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy, and Environmental Policy
  • Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
  • Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues

Who serves on it

22 senators sit on the committee: 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. That gives the majority 12 of the 22 seats. James E. Risch is the chairman. Jeanne Shaheen is the ranking member. They come from 20 states.

Following its work

Hearing notices, markup schedules, witness lists and published reports live on the committee’s own site, linked at the top of this page. The full member list below links to each member’s page here, with contact details and the seat they hold. For background on how seats and chairs are handed out, read How congressional committees work. For what happens to a bill after a committee reports it, read How a bill becomes law. To look up who represents a particular place, start at U.S. senators by state.

Members

22 members. Generated from the roster this site holds, checked against the Clerk of the House and the Senate committee lists on September 26, 2026.

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