Doggett is the dean of Texas's congressional delegation; he previously shared the deanship with Sheila Jackson Lee until her death.

[3] He was the Democratic nominee for the 1984 United States Senate election in Texas, losing to the Republican candidate, then-U.S. Representative Phil Gramm, by a wide margin.

Most of his former territory wound up on the 25th district, which consisted of a long tendril stretching from Austin to McAllen on the Mexican border.

[citation needed] On June 28, 2006, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the nearby 23rd district's lines violated the rights of Latino voters.

[4] Due to the 23rd's size, the ruling forced the redrawing of five districts between El Paso and San Antonio, including the 25th.

His home was placed in a new, heavily Republican 25th district stretching from east Austin all the way to the fringes of Fort Worth.

Doggett eventually decided to run in the 35th district, facing Bexar County assessor Sylvia Romo.

Political commentators suggested that Romo had the district numbers in her favor, but was attempting the difficult leap from local office to Congress, while Doggett had a huge amount of funding.

[13] Austin had been split between five districts on the previous congressional map, and Republican members of Congress who represented the area began facing closer reelection margins later in the decade due to the city's continued population growth and overwhelmingly Democratic voting patterns.

[14] Since Green's and O'Rourke's retirements after the 2018 election, Doggett is the only white male Democrat representing Texas in Congress.

[18] In 2014, he secured passage of legislation to expand the Missions National Park and supported it being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

His priorities there included education, health care, preventing child abuse, reducing prescription drug prices, fighting poverty, and eliminating multinational tax shelters and loopholes.

Before Doggett took this political risk he spoke with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

He also huddled with Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland and spoke with Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a close ally of Biden's, and "with every other (House) member I could find."

I believe that the only person in our caucus who doesn’t share some responsibility for the outcome is Dean Phillips, who came out early.”[22] Doggett supports legalization of abortion.

The League of Conservation Voters gave Doggett a 100% rating,[24] an indication that he supports the group's interpretation of environmental preservation.

In the 110th Congress (2007–08), he wrote climate change legislation that would have gone further to reduce greenhouse gases than bills his party's leaders supported.

[29][30] Doggett introduced legislation focused on restricting American companies from using overseas strategies to reduce their corporate tax rates.

"[32] He led a group of Democrats who "criticized the inclusion of a Social Security payroll tax reduction, saying it would endanger the soundness of the program.

Rick Perry called it "an unconstitutional anti-Texas amendment" and later filed a lawsuit after the Department of Education declined the application for funds.

"[34][35] Doggett has backed bills to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and supports cap-and-trade as well as clean technologies.

"[37] In 2015, Doggett's continued interest in international affairs was reflected in his support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear deal.

Together with Representatives David Price and Jan Schakowsky, Doggett organized a successful whip effort to ensure Congress did not obstruct nuclear negotiations with Iran.

"[44] Of the situation, he said: "Their fanatical insistence on repealing Social Security and Medicare is not just about halting health care reform but rolling back 75 years of progress."

Doggett reportedly tried to answer questions, but felt the demonstrators opposed all government programs, including Social Security and Medicare, in addition to the health care plan.

[47] Doggett also supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. at a young age, known as "Dreamers", access to work permits and deportation relief.

[50] In January 2013, Doggett passed a bill into law setting up a national commission to examine ways to reduce the number of children who die of abuse and neglect.

He also worked with Representative Sam Johnson to pass a bill through the House in December 2012 to authorize the phased removal of Social Security numbers from Medicare cards to crack down on identity theft.

[53] Doggett was a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, skipping his inauguration to speak at the Women's March at the State Capitol in Austin, which observers described as the largest protest in Texas history.

[54][55] He has played a leading role in seeking disclosure of Trump's tax returns and in opposing the repeal of the Affordable Health Care Act.