The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission had 33 members when its commissioners were sworn in in 2018.
The commissioners took their oaths at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on November 16, 2018. The ceremony began the commission’s organized work toward the United States’ 250th-anniversary commemoration. Its membership combined private citizens, members of Congress, and federal officials.
The original 33-member structure consisted of 16 private citizens, eight members of Congress, and nine federal officials. Later legal changes expanded the number of non-voting ex officio federal officials, bringing the body’s total membership to 36. That later figure is a common source of confusion when discussing the commission’s original formation.
Congress created the commission through legislation enacted in 2016. Its responsibilities included developing plans and recommendations for commemorating the anniversary and coordinating with public and private organizations. The commission was designed as a bipartisan, national planning body rather than a local Philadelphia committee.