The 1790 United States elections occurred in the middle of President George Washington's first term. Members of the 2nd United States Congress were chosen in this election. Formal political parties did not exist, but Congress was broadly divided between a faction supporting the policies of the Washington administration and a faction opposed to those policies. Despite modest gains for the anti-administration faction, the pro-administration faction retained control of both houses of Congress. Vermont and Kentucky joined the union during the 2nd Congress.