Party leaders of the United States Senate
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The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two
By Senate precedent, the presiding officer gives the majority leader priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate. The majority leader serves as the chief representative of their party in the Senate, and is considered the most powerful member of the Senate. They also serve as the chief representative of their party in the entire Congress if the House of Representatives, and thus the office of the speaker of the House, is controlled by the opposition party. The Senate's executive and legislative business is also managed and scheduled by the majority leader.
The assistant majority leader and assistant minority leader of the United States Senate, commonly called
Current floor leaders
The Senate is
The current leaders are Senators
.History
By at least 1850, parties in each chamber of Congress began naming chairs, and while conference and caucus chairs carried very little authority, the Senate party floor leader positions arose from the position of conference chair.[2] Senate Democrats began the practice of electing their floor leaders in 1920 while they were in the minority. John W. Kern was a Democratic senator from Indiana. While the title was not official, the Senate website identifies Kern as the first Senate party leader, serving in that capacity from 1913 through 1917 (and in turn, the first Senate Democratic leader), while serving concurrently as chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.[3] In 1925, the Republicans (who were in the majority at the time) also adopted this language when Charles Curtis became the first (official) majority leader,[4] although his immediate predecessor Henry Cabot Lodge is considered the first (unofficial) Senate majority leader.
The United States Constitution designates the
Powers of the majority leader
Under a long-standing Senate precedent, motions or amendments by the majority leader is granted precedence over motions by any other senator: the majority leader can therefore make at any time a motion to proceed to the consideration of a bill on the Senate Calendar (which contains almost exclusively bills which have been reported by the committee they were assigned to); a motion to proceed may be agreed to either by unanimous consent or through the invocation of cloture. Conventionally, no senator other than the majority leader introduces motions to proceed, although every senatore is theoretically allowed to. In addition, the majority leader can block consideration of amendments through a practice known as "filling the tree", and decides which members will fill each of the committee seats reserved to the majority party; members of committes are therefore often prone to following the instructions of the majority leader, and rarely place bills on the Senate Calendar without the latter's consent.[5]
List of party leaders
The Democratic Party first selected a leader in 1920. The Republican Party first formally designated a leader in 1925.[6]
Congress | Dates | Democratic whip | Democratic leader | Majority | Republican leader | Republican whip |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
63rd | May 28, 1913 – March 4, 1915 |
J. Hamilton Lewis | None | Democratic ← majority |
None | None |
64th | March 4, 1915 – December 6, 1915 | |||||
December 6, 1915 – December 13, 1915 |
James Wadsworth | |||||
December 13, 1915 – March 4, 1917 |
Charles Curtis | |||||
65th | March 4, 1917 – March 4, 1919 | |||||
66th | March 4, 1919 – April 27, 1920 |
Peter Gerry | Republican majority → |
Henry Cabot Lodge Unofficial | ||
April 27, 1920 – March 4, 1921 |
Oscar Underwood | |||||
67th | March 4, 1921 – March 4, 1923 | |||||
68th | March 4, 1923 – December 3, 1923 | |||||
December 3, 1923 – November 9, 1924 |
Joseph T. Robinson | |||||
November 9, 1924 – March 4, 1925 |
Charles Curtis Acting |
Wesley Jones Acting | ||||
69th | March 4, 1925 – March 4, 1927 |
Charles Curtis | Wesley Jones | |||
70th | March 4, 1927 – March 4, 1929 | |||||
71st | March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1931 |
Morris Sheppard | James E. Watson | Simeon Fess | ||
72nd | March 4, 1931 – March 4, 1933 | |||||
73rd | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 |
J. Hamilton Lewis | Democratic ← majority |
Charles L. McNary | Felix Hebert | |
74th | January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1937 |
None[a] | ||||
75th | January 3, 1937 – July 14, 1937 | |||||
July 14, 1937 – January 3, 1939 |
Alben W. Barkley | |||||
76th | January 3, 1939 – April 9, 1939 | |||||
April 9, 1939 – January 3, 1940 |
Sherman Minton | |||||
January 3, 1940 – January 3, 1941 |
Warren Austin Acting | |||||
77th | January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943 |
J. Lister Hill | Charles L. McNary | |||
78th | January 3, 1943 – February 25, 1944 |
Kenneth Wherry | ||||
February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1945 |
Wallace H. White Acting | |||||
79th | January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947 |
Wallace H. White | ||||
80th | January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 |
Scott W. Lucas | Republican majority → | |||
81st | January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951 |
Francis Myers | Scott W. Lucas | Democratic ← majority |
Kenneth S. Wherry | Leverett Saltonstall |
82nd | January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1952 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | Ernest McFarland | |||
January 3, 1952 – January 3, 1953 |
Styles Bridges | |||||
83rd | January 3, 1953 – July 31, 1953 |
Earle Clements | Lyndon B. Johnson | Republican majority → |
Robert A. Taft | |
August 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 |
William Knowland | |||||
84th | January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957 |
Democratic ← majority | ||||
85th | January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1959 |
Mike Mansfield | Everett Dirksen | |||
86th | January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961 |
Everett Dirksen | Thomas Kuchel | |||
87th | January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1963 |
Hubert Humphrey | Mike Mansfield | |||
88th | January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965 | |||||
89th | January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967 |
Russell B. Long | ||||
90th | January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1969 | |||||
91st | January 3, 1969 – September 7, 1969 |
Ted Kennedy | Hugh Scott | |||
September 24, 1969 – January 3, 1971 |
Hugh Scott | Robert Griffin | ||||
92nd | January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973 |
Robert Byrd | ||||
93rd | January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975 | |||||
94th | January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1977 | |||||
95th | January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979 |
Alan Cranston | Robert Byrd | Howard Baker | Ted Stevens | |
96th | January 3, 1979 – November 1, 1979 | |||||
November 1, 1979 – March 5, 1980 |
Ted Stevens Acting | |||||
March 5, 1980 – January 3, 1981 |
Howard Baker | |||||
97th | January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1983 |
Republican majority → | ||||
98th | January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985 | |||||
99th | January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1987 |
Bob Dole | Alan Simpson | |||
100th | January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989 |
Democratic ← majority | ||||
101st | January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1991 |
George Mitchell | ||||
102nd | January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993 |
Wendell Ford | ||||
103rd | January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995 | |||||
104th | January 3, 1995 – June 12, 1996 |
Tom Daschle | Republican majority → |
Trent Lott | ||
June 12, 1996 – January 3, 1997 |
Trent Lott | Don Nickles | ||||
105th | January 3, 1997 – January 3, 1999 | |||||
106th | January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001 |
Harry Reid | ||||
107th | January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001 |
Democratic ← majority | ||||
January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001 |
Republican majority → | |||||
June 6, 2001 – November 23, 2002 |
Democratic ← majority | |||||
November 23, 2002 – January 3, 2003 |
[b] Republican majority → | |||||
108th | January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005 |
Bill Frist | Mitch McConnell | |||
109th | January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007 |
Dick Durbin | Harry Reid | |||
110th | January 3, 2007 – December 18, 2007 |
Democratic ← majority |
Mitch McConnell | Trent Lott | ||
December 19, 2007 – January 3, 2009 |
Jon Kyl | |||||
111th | January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | |||||
112th | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013 | |||||
113th | January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015 |
John Cornyn | ||||
114th | January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017 |
Republican majority → | ||||
115th | January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019 |
Chuck Schumer | ||||
116th | January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021 |
John Thune | ||||
117th | January 3, 2021 – January 20, 2021 | |||||
January 20, 2021 – January 3, 2023 |
Democratic ← majority | |||||
118th | January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025 | |||||
Congress | Dates | Democratic whip | Democratic leader | Majority | Republican leader | Republican whip |
See also
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of the United States |
---|
- Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives
- President pro tempore of the United States Senate
- Vice President of the United States (President of the United States Senate)
- Party divisions of United States Congresses
- List of political parties in the United States
Notes
- Republican Conference for the period state: "On motion of Senator Hastings, duly seconded and carried, it was agreed that no Assistant Leader or Whip be elected but that the chairman be authorized to appoint Senators from time to time to assist him in taking charge of the interests of the minority." A note attached to the conference minutes added: "The chairman of the conference, Senator McNary, apparently appointed Senator Austin of Vermont as assistant leader in 1943 and 1944, until the conference adopted Rules of Organization."[7]
- ^ Between November 23, 2002, and January 3, 2003, during the 107th Congress, Democrats remained in control, despite a Republican majority resulting from Jim Talent's special election victory in Missouri. There was no reorganization as the Senate was not in session.[8]
References
- ^ "Democrats Take Narrow Control of US Senate as Three New Members Sworn In". VOA. Reuters. January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ Heitshusen, Valerie (September 4, 2019). Party Leaders in the United States Congress, 1789-2019 (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service. p. i. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ "Majority and Minority Leaders". senate.gov. United States Senate. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ "Senate Leader". senate.gov. United States Senate. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ "What makes Senate leaders so powerful?".
- ^ "Majority and Minority Leaders". United States Senate. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ Party Whips Archived March 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, via Senate.gov
- ^ Party Division in the Senate, 1789–present, via Senate.gov