The new Congress that takes office at noon will have the distinction of being the most diverse yet to serve.
Still, the new crop of House and Senate members break a number of key barriers. For the first time, white men will be in the minority of the 200-member Democratic caucus in the House. There will be 44 African-Americans in the House and one in the Senate: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the first black Senator since 1979. Two of the Senate's three Hispanics will be Republicans (Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas). Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey in a Democrat.