Party leaders of the United States Senate
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The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for the political parties respectively holding the majority and the minority in the United States Senate, and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. They are elected to their positions in the Senate by their respective party caucuses, the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference.
By rule, the Presiding Officer gives the Majority Leader priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate. The Majority Leader customarily serves as the chief representative of their party in Senate, and sometimes even in all of Congress if the House of Representatives and thus the office of Speaker of the House is controlled by the opposition party.
The Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate (commonly called Senate Majority and Minority Whips) are the second-ranking members of each party's leadership. The main function of the Majority and Minority Whips is to gather votes on major issues. Because they are the second ranking member of the Senate, if there is no floor leader present, the whip may become acting floor leader. Before 1969, the official titles were Majority Whip and Minority Whip.
Current floor leaders
The Senate is currently composed of 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 independents, both of whom caucus with the Democrats.
The current leaders are Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The current Assistant Majority Leader is Republican John Cornyn of Texas. The current Assistant Minority Leader is Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois.
History
The Democrats began the practice of electing floor leaders in 1920 while they were in the minority. John Worth Kern (December 20, 1849 – August 17, 1917) was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana. While the title was not official, he is considered to be the first Senate party leader (and in turn, the first Senate Democratic Leader), while serving concurrently as Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In 1925 the majority (at the time) Republicans also adopted this language when Charles Curtis became the first (official) Majority Leader, although his immediate predecessor Henry Cabot Lodge is considered the first (unofficial) Senate Majority Leader.
The Constitution designates the Vice President of the United States as President of the Senate. The Constitution also calls for a President pro tempore to serve as the leader of the body when the President of the Senate (the Vice President) is absent. In practice, neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore—customarily the most senior (longest-serving) Senator in the majority party—actually presides over the Senate on a daily basis; that task is given to junior Senators of the majority party. Since the Vice President may be of a different party than the majority and is not a member subject to discipline, the rules of procedure of the Senate give the presiding officer very little power and none beyond the presiding role. For these reasons, it is the Majority Leader who, in practice, manages the Senate. This is in contrast to the House of Representatives where the elected Speaker of the House has a great deal of discretionary power and generally presides over votes on bills.
List of party leaders
The Democratic Party first selected a leader in 1920. The Republican Party first formally designated a leader in 1925.
Cong- ress |
Dates | Democratic Whip | Democratic Leader | Majority | Republican Leader | Republican Whip |
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63rd | March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1915 |
J. Hamilton Lewis | None | Democratic ← Majority |
None | None |
64th | March 4, 1915 – March 4, 1915 |
James Wadsworth, Jr. | ||||
March 4, 1915 – March 4, 1917 |
Charles Curtis | |||||
65th | March 4, 1917 – March 4, 1919 | |||||
66th | March 4, 1919 – March 4, 1921 |
Peter Gerry | Oscar Underwood | Republican Majority → |
Henry Cabot Lodge (unofficial) | |
67th | March 4, 1921 – March 4, 1923 | |||||
68th | March 4, 1923 – November 9, 1924 |
Joseph Taylor Robinson | ||||
1925 | Charles Curtis | Wesley Jones | ||||
69th | March 4, 1925 – March 4, 1927 | |||||
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[Note 1] | ||||
75th | January 3, 1937 – July 14, 1937 | |||||
July 22, 1937 – January 3, 1939 |
Alben W. Barkley | |||||
76th | January 3, 1939 – ? |
Sherman Minton | ||||
1940 | Warren Austin (acting) | |||||
77th | January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943 |
Lister Hill | Charles L. McNary | |||
78th | January 3, 1943 – February 25, 1944 |
Kenneth Wherry | ||||
February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1945 |
Wallace H. White Jr. (acting) | |||||
79th | January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947 |
Wallace H. White Jr. | ||||
80th | January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 |
Scott 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 Johnson | Ernest McFarland | |||
January 3, 1952 – January 3, 1953 |
Styles Bridges | |||||
83rd | January 3, 1953 – July 31, 1953 |
Earle Clements | Lyndon Johnson | Republican Majority → |
Robert A. Taft | |
August 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 |
William F. 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 M. 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 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 – January 3, 1981 | |||||
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 – January 3, 2003[Note 2] |
Democratic ← Majority | |||||
108th | January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005 |
Republican Majority → |
Bill Frist | Mitch McConnell | ||
109th | January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007 |
Richard 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 → |
See also
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of the United States of America |
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Legislature
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- Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives
- President pro tempore of the United States Senate
- Party divisions of United States Congresses
- List of political parties in the United States
Notes
- ↑ No Republican whips were appointed from 1935 to 1944 since only 17 Republicans were in the Senate following the landslide reelection of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1936. Accordingly, the minutes of the 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." Source: Party Whips, via Senate.gov
- ↑ Democrats remained in control after November 25, 2002, despite a Republican majority resulting from Jim Talent's special election victory in Missouri. There was no reorganization as Senate was no longer in session. Party Division in the Senate, 1789–present, via Senate.gov