James Merrill Jeffords
Senator for Vermont · Independent
Born 1934 · Died 2014
When James Merrill Jeffords changed parties
- Republican → IndependentChanged from Republican to Independent on June 6, 2001, while serving in the Senate.We searched the Congressional Record from May 20 to Jul 31, 2001 and found no statement in which they explain this change.
Dates and parties: congress-legislators, checked October 20, 2026. Reasons are shown only in the member's own words from an official record, and are never summarized by us.
James Merrill Jeffords
- S. 3698 · Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act July 20, 2006 · In committee
- S. 3689 · National Historic Country Store Preservation and Revitalization Act of 2006 July 19, 2006 · In committee
- S. 3654 · RISE Act July 13, 2006 · In committee
- S. 3634 · Spent Nuclear Fuel Control and Accounting Act of 2006 July 11, 2006 · In committee
- S. 3591 · High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006 June 28, 2006 · Out of committee
10 terms
| Chamber | Represents | Party | Term dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Vermont | Republican, then Independent | January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007 |
| Senate | Vermont | Republican | January 4, 1995 – January 3, 2001 |
| Senate | Vermont | Republican | January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
| House | Vermont · At-large | Republican | January 6, 1987 – January 3, 1989 |
| House | Vermont · At-large | Republican | January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1987 |
| House | Vermont · At-large | Republican | January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985 |
| House | Vermont · At-large | Republican | January 5, 1981 – January 3, 1983 |
| House | Vermont · At-large | Republican | January 15, 1979 – January 3, 1981 |
| House | Vermont · At-large | Republican | January 4, 1977 – January 3, 1979 |
| House | Vermont · At-large | Republican | January 14, 1975 – January 3, 1977 |
Source: congress-legislators, a public-domain record of every member of Congress, checked October 20, 2026.
- Article I, Section 1 — all legislative powers are given to Congress
- Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 — how members of the House are chosen
- Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 — how senators are chosen (changed by the 17th Amendment)
- Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 — the powers of Congress
What they did most recently
The member's own vote on each House or Senate roll call.
Ideology, measured from every vote they cast
DW-NOMINATE first dimension (Voteview, UCLA), shown against the 109th Congress Senate.
Every roll-call vote on file
Select any row to open that measure's file. The Print button prints that vote.
Record timeline
· Roll-call votes
Recorded as not voting — On the Motion: H.R. 6111 (Senate Vote 279 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Motion Agreed to
· Roll-call votes
Recorded as not voting — On the Cloture Motion: H.R. 6111 (Senate Vote 278 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Cloture Motion Agreed to
· Roll-call votes
Recorded as not voting — On the Motion: H.R. 6111 (Senate Vote 277 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Motion Agreed to
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Nomination: PN 1746 (Senate Vote 276 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Nomination Confirmed
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Cloture Motion: PN 1746 (Senate Vote 275 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Cloture Motion Agreed to
· Bills sponsored
Latest official action on S. 2054: Held at the desk.
· Roll-call votes
Recorded as not voting — On the Nomination: PN 1396 (Senate Vote 274 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Nomination Confirmed
· Roll-call votes
Recorded as not voting — On the Cloture Motion: PN 1396 (Senate Vote 273 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Cloture Motion Agreed to
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Nomination: PN 2191 (Senate Vote 272 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Nomination Confirmed
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Motion: H.R. 5384 (Senate Vote 271 (109th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Motion Rejected
Open the full record timeline Download this timeline
- Bills cosponsored: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Committee assignments: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Floor remarks (Congressional Record): No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Campaign finance (FEC): No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Lobbyist contribution reports: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Court and ethics records: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
Each entry is a record we hold from an official source, dated and worded as that record states it, with a link to the official government page. Records without an official link are not listed.
Recorded positions over time
On 7 measures the recorded Yea or Nay differs between two votes. On 131 measures the recorded position is the same across two or more votes.
Different questions on the same bill can lead to different votes. Read each question before drawing a conclusion.
Last 96 roll calls
Votes cast by year
Court cases naming this member in their official role
Federal cases whose public caption explicitly names this person as a United States senator or representative in an official capacity, during a term recorded in this file. The date on each line is the date of that record, not necessarily the day the case was filed. Being named in an official-capacity case is not a finding about the person, and nothing here says who won. Personal matters are left out entirely.
We have not found a public court record that clearly names this person in their official role, matches the dates they held office, and comes from a court we can follow. That does not mean no case exists. It means we have no qualifying record to show here.
Case records come from each court's own docket and from the United States Courts Opinions collection published by the Government Publishing Office. Select any case to open the official record. Search another politician or see sources and methodology.
Voting records reproduced from the official Journals of the House and Senate (compiled by Voteview, UCLA) · each measure's file links its official government record · sources & methodology · data as of October 24, 2026