Which Senators Missed the Most Votes in ‘Exhausting’ Record Year

The Senate just wrapped up its busiest year of votes since Gerald Ford was president, but just a few senators made it to every vote.

Of the upper chamber’s 659 roll call votes in 2025 — the second most in history, topped only by the Senate’s 1976 tally — less than 20% were fully attended. Three senators showed up to every single vote, while half a dozen missed 50 or more, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis.

For the three senators who ended the year without a missed vote, two of them — Ohio Republican Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno — were newcomers. The third, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), hasn’t missed a single vote since she first joined Congress in 1997 — the longest unblemished streak in Senate history.

“I think volume doesn’t necessarily equate with productivity, but I think we’ve had an incredibly productive session of this Congress,” Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said.

Senate Republicans held more roll calls than the chamber has in nearly a half-century as they barreled through delays to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees, used marathon voting sessions to pass their sweeping tax and spending law, set a new precedent for the lower threshold, and voted to repeal a record number of Biden administration rules.

The members who missed the most votes in 2025 included parents of young children, soon-to-be retirees, and senators who have devoted time to campaigning and rallying around the country. The voting records could serve as fodder for the campaign trail in 2026, a year when they are expected to spend more time at home and less in Washington ahead of the midterm elections.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who is often mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential candidate and spent time in Iowa this year, missed the most votes out of any senator in 2025, with a total of 95 absences. Gallego took paternity leave this year after his son was born.

“I understand the immense trust the people of Arizona have placed in me, which is why I will still be fulfilling my responsibility to vote,” Gallego said in June. “But the job of dad is also an immense responsibility and one I’ll be focusing on that for a while.”

Gallego’s office said in an emailed statement that he felt privileged to take paternity leave and is committed in the Senate to fighting so Americans aren’t forced to pick between a paycheck or taking care of their children.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who announced in June that he wouldn’t seek reelection after bucking Trump’s sweeping tax bill, missed the second most votes, with 77 absences. And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been traveling the country hosting packed rallies, ranked third with 58 missed votes. Tillis and Sanders’ offices didn’t respond to requests to comment.

On occasion, some senators were absent during politically tenuous votes. For example, three rising Democratic voices — Gallego, Sen. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) — missed a vote on blocking weapons sales to Israel. Though all three later said how they would have voted after their absences had been scrutinized.

With tight margins in the Senate, neither party proved more likely to miss votes. The median Republican senator missed 14 votes, and the median Democrat missed 14 votes as well. The Senate stayed in session and voted throughout the longest government shutdown in history this year, unlike its House counterpart.

“We’ve been in session more days than any Senate in the past 50 years,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who only missed two votes, said. “It’s been a lot of work that’s happened in this chamber this year.”

The year of votes has been a drain on senators, who are leaving in droves instead of running for reelection in the midterms next year. After a late night of votes last week before the recess, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) made the surprise announcement that she wouldn’t run again in 2026, citing “the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall.”

Collins, who is up for reelection in 2026 in what will be a key race for both parties, maintained her record this year by not missing a single vote.

“The people of Maine deserve a senator who shows up to represent them every day,” Collins said when she cast her 9,750th consecutive vote in October after the vote-filled year helped boost her count.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the oldest member of the chamber, had not missed any votes all year until this past Wednesday, when he missed several to receive the remains of two fallen Iowa National Guard members at Dover Air Force Base with Trump.