diff --git a/backend/app/services/congress_api.py b/backend/app/services/congress_api.py
index b4a49ce..3ea0fb7 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/congress_api.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/congress_api.py
@@ -165,8 +165,19 @@ def _normalize_state(state: str | None) -> str | None:
 
 def parse_member_from_api(data: dict) -> dict:
     """Normalize raw API member list data into our model fields."""
-    terms = data.get("terms", {}).get("item", [])
+    terms_raw = data.get("terms", {})
+    if isinstance(terms_raw, list):
+        terms = terms_raw
+    elif isinstance(terms_raw, dict):
+        terms = terms_raw.get("item", [])
+    else:
+        terms = []
     current_term = terms[-1] if terms else {}
+    chamber = current_term.get("chamber")
+    # Fallback: infer House from presence of a numeric district
+    if not chamber and data.get("district"):
+        chamber = "House of Representatives"
+    district = data.get("district")
     return {
         "bioguide_id": data.get("bioguideId"),
         "name": data.get("name", ""),
@@ -174,8 +185,8 @@ def parse_member_from_api(data: dict) -> dict:
         "last_name": data.get("lastName"),
         "party": data.get("partyName") or None,
         "state": _normalize_state(data.get("state")),
-        "chamber": current_term.get("chamber"),
-        "district": str(data.get("district")) if data.get("district") else None,
+        "chamber": chamber,
+        "district": str(int(district)) if district is not None else None,
         "photo_url": data.get("depiction", {}).get("imageUrl"),
         "official_url": data.get("officialWebsiteUrl"),
     }