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The Senate Republican and Democratic floor leaders are elected by the members of their party in the Senate at the beginning of each Congress. Depending on which party is in power, one serves as majority leader and the other as minority leader. The leaders serve as spokespersons for their party’s positions on issues.
The leader of the party with most of the representation (sometimes called the party-in-power) in each case is known as the majority leader, whereas the leader of the opposing party with the most members is known as the minority leader.
United States Congress | |
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Senate president pro tempore | Patrick Leahy (D) since January 20, 2021 |
Senate Majority Leader | Chuck Schumer (D) since January 20, 2021 |
Speaker of the House | Nancy Pelosi (D) since January 3, 2019 |
House Majority Leader | Steny Hoyer (D) since January 3, 2019 |
The titular, non-partisan leaders of the Senate itself are the Vice President of the United States, who serves as President of the Senate, and the President pro tempore, the seniormost member of the majority, who theoretically presides in the absence of the Vice President.
– They are elected biennially by a secret ballot of their party colleagues.
The floor leaders and whips of each party are elected by a majority vote of all the senators of their party assembled in a conference or, as it sometimes is called, a caucus. The practice has been to choose the leader for a two-year term at the beginning of each Congress.
With the Democrats holding a majority of seats and the Republicans holding a minority, the current leaders are Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise.
Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committee unless they are granted a waiver from their party’s congressional leadership. It has long been regarded as the most prestigious and most powerful committee in Congress.
President of the Senate | Majority Leader | Minority Leader |
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President pro tem of the Senate | Majority Caucus Chair | Minority Caucus Chair |
Speaker of the House or Assembly | Majority Whip | Minority Whip |
Speaker pro tem |
The Senate Republican and Democratic floor leaders are elected by the members of their party in the Senate at the beginning of each Congress. Depending on which party is in power, one serves as majority leader and the other as minority leader. … The majority leader has also come to speak for the Senate as an institution.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi
The Speaker of the House is second in line to succeed the President, after the Vice President.
Party leaders. Definition: Members of the HOuse and Senate who are chosen by the Democratic or Republican caucus in each chamber to represent the party’s interests in that chamber and who give some central direction to the chamber’s deliberations.
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.
The Speaker is the presiding officer of the House and the leader of its majority party.
Traditionally serving as assistant leaders, whips are mainly responsible for counting heads and rounding up party members for votes and quorum calls, and they occasionally stand in for the majority or minority leaders in their absence.
In the United States, divided government describes a situation in which one party controls the executive branch while another party controls one or both houses of the legislative branch.
The current leaders are Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
The minority leader: develops the minority position; negotiates with the majority party; directs minority caucus activities on the floor; directs floor activity for the minority party; leads floor debate for the minority party. Leadership is a key ingredient to a successful Legislature.
Nancy Pelosi | |
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Succeeded by | Steny Hoyer |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office June 2, 1987 |
Congress and Years | Name | State or Territory |
---|---|---|
114th (2015–2017) | PELOSI, Nancy | CA |
115th (2017–2019) | PELOSI, Nancy | CA |
116th (2019–2021) | MCCARTHY, Kevin | CA |
117th (2021–2023) | MCCARTHY, Kevin | CA |
Nancy Pelosi, incumbent speaker of the House, former Minority Leader, and current representative from California’s 12th congressional district.
Rank | Member | Committee and leadership positions |
---|---|---|
1 | Don Young | Dean of the House |
2 | Hal Rogers | |
3 | Chris Smith | |
4 | Steny Hoyer | Majority Leader |
The House is the larger body, whose members represent 435 congressional districts, which are distributed across states based on population during the most recent census; House members are up for re-election every two years. The Senate has 100 members, two from each state, who are up for re-election every six years.
House Ways and Means Committee
This committee has jurisdiction very similar to that of the Senate Finance Committee. It is considered one of the most influential committees in the Congress because of its power to tax. As with spending bills, tax legislation originates in the House.
The franking privilege, which allows Members of Congress to transmit mail matter under their signature without postage, has existed in the United States since colonial times.
The Senate tradition of unlimited debate has allowed for the use of the filibuster, a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question.
A senator’s term of office is six years and approximately one-third of the total membership of the Senate is elected every two years. Look up brief biographies of Senators from 1774 to the present in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Caucus. Definition: a meeting of all the state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention.
Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. A congressional act enacted in 1967 requires that representatives be elected from single-member districts. When a state has a single representative, that district will be state-wide.
Management committee/board members have ultimate responsibility for directing the activity of the organisation, ensuring it is well run and delivering the outcomes for which it has been set up. Ensuring the effective management of the organisation and its activities; and. …