He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions during the Forty-fourth Congress.

He was also one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1876 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against William W. Belknap, ex-Secretary of War.

[citation needed] Following his tenure in Congress, Jenks was nominated by the Democrats for judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1880.

From 1886 to 1889 Jenks served as United States Solicitor General, during President Grover Cleveland’s first term.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Solicitor General of the United States.