WASHINGTON — It’s a milestone for a longtime Kentucky congressional representative. After 41 years in office, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) has become the most senior member of the United States House of Representatives. 

“Lots of things have changed,” Rogers said in a one-on-one interview with Spectrum News. “It’s not the same institution it was 41 years ago.” 

Rep. Hal Rogers discusses his new role of dean in the United States House of Representatives. Rogers has served in Congress for over 41 years. (Spectrum News 1/Sam Lisker)

Rogers has been representing 5th Congressional District in southeastern Kentucky since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. He took office on Jan. 3, 1981, and Carter’s last day in office was Jan. 20, 1981.

Rogers was born in rural Kentucky and was a district attorney for 11 years before entering Congress.

“We needed jobs,” Rogers said. “I had to leave myself after high school looking for a job in Cincinnati, but that was the story of people from Kentucky.” 

His congressional district, in the heart of Appalachia, is one of the most rural in America and also one of the poorest.

“My chore, I thought, was to bring more jobs to our region in order to keep home those young brains that we were shipping off,” Rogers said.

Watch the video in the player above for more of the one-on-one interview with Rep. Hal Rogers.

Thanks to seniority, the 84-year-old Rogers chaired the powerful House Appropriations Committee from 2011 to 2016. During his time in office, he’s conducted over 650 oversight hearings and considered over 2,000 amendments to appropriations bills. 

Rep. Hal Rogers gives the keynote address during the dedication ceremony for the Harlan Flood Control Project in 1999 in Loyall, Ky. (Office of Hal Rogers)

Rogers believes the willingness to work across the aisle has decreased in recent years. 

“The country is divided,” Rogers said. “That reflects itself in the House. The House, after all, does reflect the country.” 

Most members of Congress had their families with them in Washington when he took office, but he said that changed when travel became easier.  

“Consequently, we were moving our families back down home, but back up here we were not playing golf together or a poker game or what have you,” Rogers said. “We didn’t share as much as we used to. That’s a big change.”

Rogers is a stalwart conservative who supported President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, voted to reject electoral votes for Joe Biden from Pennsylvania and Arizona and has a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee. 

In a rare one-on-one interview, Rogers said he doesn’t think term limits are a good idea. 

“In fact, you want to keep people with experience,” Rogers said, adding he thinks it’s important to keep people in office who have accumulated knowledge so they can pass it on to younger members. 

“With term limits you kick people out who know what’s going on,” Rogers said. 

Rogers became the senior most member of the House when Rep. Don Young (R-AK) died last month. Young was in the middle of his 25th term. 

There’s actually another member of the House who began serving the same day Rogers did, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ). When two members enter Congress on the same day, seniority is determined by alphabetical order.