Elected as a Republican to the Eightieth Congress Seely-Brown served from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1949, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress. He was elected to the Eighty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses, and served from January 3, 1951, to January 3, 1959, before becoming an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1958 to the Eighty-sixth Congress. Seely-Brown voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, but voted present on the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He was elected in 1960 to the Eighty-seventh Congress and served from January 3, 1961, to January 3, 1963. In 1962 he was the Republican candidate for the US Senate seat of retiring Republican Prescott Bush and was defeated in a close race with the Democratic former governor, Abraham Ribicoff, receiving 48% of the vote. After political office, he resumed agricultural pursuits and resided in Pomfret Center, Connecticut.
