Majority and Minority Leaders”, Available At
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Majority and Minority Party Membership Other Resources Adapted from: “Majority and Minority Leaders”, www.senate.gov Available at: http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Majority_Minority_Leaders.htm Majority and Minority Leaders Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Majority and Minority Leaders Chapter 3: Majority and Minority Whips (Assistant Floor Leaders) Chapter 4: Complete List of Majority and Minority Leaders Chapter 5: Longest-Serving Party Leaders Introduction The positions of party floor leader are not included in the Constitution but developed gradually in the 20th century. The first floor leaders were formally designated in 1920 (Democrats) and 1925 (Republicans). 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 parties' positions on issues. The majority leader schedules the daily legislative program and fashions the unanimous consent agreements that govern the time for debate. The majority leader has the right to be called upon first if several senators are seeking recognition by the presiding officer, which enables him to offer motions or amendments before any other senator. Majority and Minority Leaders Elected at the beginning of each Congress by members of their respective party conferences to represent them on the Senate floor, the majority and minority leaders serve as spokesmen for their parties' positions on the issues. The majority leader has also come to speak for the Senate as an institution. Working with the committee chairs and ranking members, the majority leader schedules business on the floor by calling bills from the calendar and keeps members of his party advised about the daily legislative program. In consultation with the minority leader, the majority leader fashions unanimous consent agreements by which the Senate limits the amount of time for debate and divides that time between the parties. When time limits cannot be agreed on, the majority leader might file for cloture to shut off debate. Occupying the front desks on the center aisle, the two leaders coordinate party strategy and try to keep their parties united on roll-call votes. The leaders spend much of their time on or near the Senate floor, to open the day's proceedings, keep legislation moving, and protect the rights and interests of party members. When several 1 senators are seeking recognition at the same time, the presiding officer in the Senate will call on the majority leader first, then on the minority leader, and then on the managers of the bill being debated, in that order. This right of first recognition enables the majority leader to offer amendments, substitutes, and motions to reconsider before any other senator. Former Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd called first recognition "the most potent weapon in the Majority Leader's arsenal." The posts of majority and minority leader are not included in the Constitution, as are the president of the Senate (the vice president of the United States) and the president pro tempore. Instead, party floor leadership evolved out of necessity. During the nineteenth century, floor leadership was exercised by the chair of the party conference and the chairs of the most powerful standing committees. In 1913, to help enact President Woodrow Wilson's ambitious legislative program, Democratic Conference chairman John Worth Kern of Indiana began functioning along the lines of the modern majority leader. In 1919, when Republicans returned to the majority, Republican Conference Chairman Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. also acted as floor leader. Not until 1925 did Republicans officially designate Senator Charles Curtis of Kansas as majority leader, separate from the Conference chair. (Five years earlier, the Democrats had specifically named Oscar Underwood of Alabama as minority leader.) Although party floor leadership posts carry great responsibility, they provide few specific powers. Instead, floor leaders have largely had to depend on their individual skill, intelligence, and personality. Majority leaders seek to balance the needs of senators of both parties to express their views fully on a bill with the pressures to move the bill as quickly as possible toward enactment. These conflicting demands have required majority leaders to develop skills in compromise, accommodation, and diplomacy. Lyndon Johnson, who held the post in the 1950s, once said that the greatest power of the majority leader was "the power of persuasion." The majority leader usually works closely with the minority leader so that, as Senator Bob Dole explained, "we never surprise each other on the floor." The party leaders meet frequently with the president and with the leaders of the House of Representatives. The majority leader also greets foreign dignitaries visiting the Capitol. Majority and Minority Whips (Assistant Floor Leaders) Both parties in the Senate elect whips. The term "whip" comes from a fox-hunting expression -- "whipper-in" -- referring to the member of the hunting team responsible for keeping the dogs from straying from the team during a chase. Established early in the 20th century, the development of party whips coincided with the evolution of party leaders in the Senate. Democrat James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois became the first party whip in 1913, and the Republicans established their own whip position two years later. These assistant leaders 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. Complete List of Majority and Minority Leaders Congress Majority Leader Minority Leader 2 66th Congress (1919-1921)[1] None Oscar W. Underwood (D-AL) 67th Congress (1921-1923) None [2] Oscar W. Underwood (D-AL) 68th Congress (1923-1925)[3] Charles Curtis (R-KS) Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) 69th Congress (1925-1927) Charles Curtis (R-KS) Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) 70th Congress (1927-1929) Charles Curtis (R-KS)[4] Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) 71st Congress (1929-1931) James E. Watson (R-IN)[5] Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) 72th Congress (1931-1933) James E. Watson (R-IN) [6] Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) 73rd Congress (1933-1935) Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) Charles L. McNary (R-OR)[7] 74th Congress (1935-1937) Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) Charles L. McNary (R-OR) Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR) 75th Congress (1937-1939) Charles L. McNary (R-OR) Alben Barkley (D-KY)[8] 76th Congress (1939-1941) Alben Barkley (D-KY) Charles L. McNary (R-OR)[9] 77th Congress (1941-1943) Alben Barkley (D-KY) Charles L. McNary (R-OR) Wallace H. White, Jr. (R- 78th Congress (1943-1945) Alben Barkley (D-KY) ME)[10] 79th Congress (1945-1947) Alben Barkley (D-KY) Wallace H. White, Jr. (R-ME) 80th Congress (1947-1949) Wallace H. White, Jr. (R-ME) Alben Barkley (D-KY)[11] 81th Congress (1949-1951) Scott W. Lucas (D-IL)[12] Kenneth S. Wherry (R-NE) Kenneth S. Wherry (R-NE) 82nd Congress (1951-1953)[13] Ernest W. McFarland (D-AZ) Styles Bridges (R-NH) Robert A. Taft (R-OH); 83rd Congress (1953-1955)[14] Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX) William F. Knowland (R-CA) 84th Congress (1955-1957) Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX) William F. Knowland (R-CA) William F. Knowland (R- 85th Congress (1957-1959) Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX) CA)[15] 86th Congress (1959-1961) Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX)[16] Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) 87th Congress (1961-1963) Mike Mansfield (D-MT)[17] Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) 88th Congress (1963-1965) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) 88th Congress (1963-1965) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) 89th Congress (1965-1967) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) 90th Congress (1967-1969) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) 91th Congress (1969-1971) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Hugh D. Scott, Jr. (R-PA)[18] 92nd Congress (1971-1973) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Hugh D. Scott, Jr. (R-PA) 93rd Congress (1973-1975) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Hugh D. Scott, Jr. (R-PA) 94th Congress (1975-1977)[19] Mike Mansfield (D-MT) Hugh D. Scott, Jr. (R-PA) 3 95th Congress (1977-1979)[20] Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN) 96th Congress (1979-1981) Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN) 97th Congress (1981-1983) Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN) Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R- 98th Congress (1983-1985) Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) TN)[21] 99th Congress (1985-1987) Robert Dole (R-KS)[22] Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) 100th Congress (1987-1989) Robert C. Byrd (D-WV)[23] Robert Dole (R-KS) 101st Congress (1989-1991) George J. Mitchell (D-ME)[24] Robert Dole (R-KS) 102nd Congress (1991-1993) George J. Mitchell (D-ME) Robert Dole (R-KS) 103rd Congress (1993-1995) George J. Mitchell (D-ME)[25] Robert Dole (R-KS) 104th Congress (1995- Robert Dole (R-KS) Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD) 1997)[26] 105th Congress (1997-1999) Trent Lott (R-MS) Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD) 106th Congress (1999-2001) Trent Lott (R-MS) Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD) 107th Congress (2001- Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD) Trent Lott (R-MS) 2003)[27] 108th Congress (2003-2005) William H. Frist (R-TN) Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD)[28] 109th Congress (2005-2007) William H. Frist (R-TN)[29] Harry M. Reid (D-NV) 110th Congress (2007-2009) Harry M. Reid (D-NV) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 111th Congress (2009-2011) Harry M. Reid (D-NV) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 112th Congress (2011-2013) Harry M.