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| United States Senate |
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Seniority in the United States Senate is valuable as it confers a number of perquisites and is based on length of continuous service, with ties broken by a series of factors. Customarily, the terms "senior senator" and "junior senator" are used to distinguish the two senators representing a particular state.
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The United States Constitution does not mandate differences in rights or power, but Senate rules give more power to senators with more seniority. Generally, senior senators will have more power, especially within their own caucuses. In addition, by custom the senior senators from the president's party control federal patronage appointments in their states. Thus being the junior senator is disadvantageous if the senior one is from the same party.
There are several perquisites, including the following:
A senator's seniority is primarily determined by length of continuous service: a senator who has served for 12 years is more senior than one who has served for 10 years. Because multiple new senators tend to join at the beginning of a new Congress, there are 8 tiebreakers:[1]
When multiple senators have served in the same previous role, length of time in office is used to break the tie. For instance, Barbara Mikulski, Richard Shelby, and John McCain all took office on January 3, 1987, and each had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Because they had served 10, 8, and 4 years, respectively, Mikulski is more senior than Shelby, and Shelby outranks McCain.
The president pro tempore of the Senate is traditionally the most senior member of the majority party. Only relevant factors are listed below. For senators whose seniority is based on their states' respective populations, the state population ranking is given as determined by the relevant United States Census.[2][3][4][5]
| Rank | Name | Seniority date | Second factor | Third factor | Committee and leadership positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Inouye (D-HI) | January 3, 1963 | Chair: Appropriations Dean of the Senate President pro tempore |
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| 2 | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | January 3, 1975 | Chair: Judiciary | ||
| 3 | Richard Lugar (R-IN) | January 3, 1977 | Indiana 11th in population (1970) | Ranking Member: Foreign Relations | |
| 4 | Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | Utah 36th in population (1970) | Ranking Member: Finance | ||
| 5 | Max Baucus (D-MT) | December 15, 1978 | Chair: Finance | ||
| 6 | Thad Cochran (R-MS) | December 27, 1978 | Ranking Member: Appropriations | ||
| 7 | Carl Levin (D-MI) | January 3, 1979 | Chair: Armed Services | ||
| 8 | Chuck Grassley (R-IA) | January 3, 1981 | Ranking Member: Judiciary | ||
| 9 | Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) | January 3, 1983 | Chair: Energy | ||
| 10 | John Kerry (D-MA) | January 2, 1985 | Chair: Foreign Relations | ||
| 11 | Tom Harkin[6] (D-IA) | January 3, 1985 | Former Representative | Chair: H.E.L.P. | |
| 12 | Mitch McConnell (R-KY) | Minority Leader | |||
| 13 | Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) | January 15, 1985 | Chair: Commerce | ||
| 14 | Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) | January 3, 1987 | Former Representative (10 years) | ||
| 15 | Richard Shelby[7] (R-AL) | Former Representative (8 years) | Ranking Member: Banking | ||
| 16 | John McCain (R-AZ) | Former Representative (4 years) | Arizona 29th in population (1980) | Ranking Member: Armed Services | |
| 17 | Harry Reid (D-NV) | Nevada 43rd in population (1980) | Majority Leader Democratic Caucus Chair |
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| 18 | Kent Conrad[8] (D-ND) | Chair: Budget | |||
| 19 | Herb Kohl (D-WI) | January 3, 1989 | Wisconsin 16th in population (1980) | Chair: Aging | |
| 20 | Joe Lieberman[9] (ID-CT) | Connecticut 25th in population (1980) | Chair: Homeland Security | ||
| 21 | Daniel Akaka (D-HI) | May 16, 1990 | Chair: Indian Affairs | ||
| 22 | Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) | November 10, 1992 | Chair: Intelligence | ||
| 23 | Barbara Boxer (D-CA) | January 3, 1993 | Former Representative | Chair: Environment and Public Works Chair: Ethics |
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| 24 | Patty Murray (D-WA) | Chair: Veterans' Affairs Chair: DSCC |
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| 25 | Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) | June 14, 1993 | Ranking Member: Commerce | ||
| 26 | Jim Inhofe (R-OK) | November 17, 1994 | Ranking Member: Environment | ||
| 27 | Olympia Snowe (R-ME) | January 3, 1995 | Former Representative (16 years) | Ranking Member: Small Business | |
| 28 | Jon Kyl (R-AZ) | Former Representative (8 years) | Minority Whip | ||
| 29 | Ron Wyden (D-OR) | February 6, 1996 | |||
| 30 | Pat Roberts (R-KS) | January 3, 1997 | Former Representative (16 years) | Ranking Member: Agriculture | |
| 31 | Dick Durbin (D-IL) | Former Representative (14 years) | Majority Whip | ||
| 32 | Tim Johnson (D-SD) | Former Representative (10 years) | Chair: Banking | ||
| 33 | Jack Reed (D-RI) | Former Representative (6 years) | |||
| 34 | Mary Landrieu (D-LA) | Louisiana 21st in population (1990) | Chair: Small Business | ||
| 35 | Jeff Sessions (R-AL) | Alabama 22nd in population (1990) | Ranking Member: Budget | ||
| 36 | Susan Collins (R-ME) | Maine 38th in population (1990) | Ranking Member: Homeland Security | ||
| 37 | Mike Enzi (R-WY) | Wyoming 50th in population (1990) | Ranking Member: H.E.L.P. | ||
| 38 | Chuck Schumer (D-NY) | January 3, 1999 | Former Representative (18 years) | Chair: Rules Democratic Policy Chair |
|
| 39 | Mike Crapo (R-ID) | Former Representative (6 years) | |||
| 40 | Bill Nelson (D-FL) | January 3, 2001 | Former Representative (12 years) | ||
| 41 | Tom Carper (D-DE) | Former Representative (10 years) | |||
| 42 | Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) | Former Representative (4 years) | Chair: Agriculture | ||
| 43 | Maria Cantwell (D-WA) | Former Representative (2 years) | |||
| 44 | Ben Nelson (D-NE) | ||||
| 45 | Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) | December 20, 2002 | Ranking Member: Energy | ||
| 46 | Frank Lautenberg[10] (D-NJ) | January 3, 2003 | Former Senator | ||
| 47 | Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) | Former Representative (8 years) | Georgia 10th in population (2000) | Ranking Member: Intelligence | |
| 48 | Lindsey Graham (R-SC) | South Carolina 26th in population (2000) | |||
| 49 | Lamar Alexander (R-TN) | Former Cabinet member | Republican Conference Chair Ranking Member: Rules |
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| 50 | John Cornyn[11] (R-TX) | Texas 2nd in population (2000) | Chair: NRSC | ||
| 51 | Mark Pryor (D-AR) | Arkansas 33rd in population (2000) | |||
| 52 | Richard Burr (R-NC) | January 3, 2005 | Former Representative (10 years) | Ranking Member: Veterans' Affairs | |
| 53 | Jim DeMint (R-SC) | Former Representative (6 years) | South Carolina 26th in population (2000) | Ranking Member: Joint Economic Committee | |
| 54 | Tom Coburn (R-OK) | Oklahoma 27th in population (2000) | |||
| 55 | John Thune (R-SD) | South Dakota 46th in population (2000) | Republican Policy Chair | ||
| 56 | Johnny Isakson (R-GA) | Former Representative (5 yrs., 10 mos.) | Ranking Member: Ethics | ||
| 57 | David Vitter (R-LA) | Former Representative (5 yrs., 7 mos.) | |||
| 58 | Bob Menendez (D-NJ) | January 18, 2006 | |||
| 59 | Ben Cardin (D-MD) | January 3, 2007 | Former Representative (20 years) | ||
| 60 | Bernie Sanders (I-VT) | Former Representative (16 years) | |||
| 61 | Sherrod Brown (D-OH) | Former Representative (14 years) | |||
| 62 | Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA) | Pennsylvania 6th in population (2000) | Chair: Joint Economic Committee | ||
| 63 | Jim Webb[12] (D-VA) | Virginia 12th in population (2000) | |||
| 64 | Bob Corker (R-TN) | Tennessee 16th in population (2000) | Ranking Member: Aging | ||
| 65 | Claire McCaskill (D-MO) | Missouri 17th in population (2000) | |||
| 66 | Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) | Minnesota 21st in population (2000) | |||
| 67 | Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) | Rhode Island 43rd in population (2000) | |||
| 68 | Jon Tester (D-MT) | Montana 44th in population (2000) | |||
| 69 | John Barrasso (R-WY) | June 22, 2007 | Ranking Member: Indian Affairs Conference Vice Chair |
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| 70 | Roger Wicker (R-MS) | December 31, 2007 | |||
| 71 | Mark Udall (D-CO) | January 3, 2009 | Former Representative (10 years) | Colorado 24th in population (2000) | |
| 72 | Tom Udall (D-NM) | New Mexico 36th in population (2000) | |||
| 73 | Mike Johanns (R-NE) | Former Cabinet member | |||
| 74 | Jeanne Shaheen[13] (D-NH) | Former Governor (6 years) | |||
| 75 | Mark Warner (D-VA) | Former Governor (4 years) | |||
| 76 | Jim Risch (R-ID) | Former Governor (7 months) | |||
| 77 | Kay Hagan (D-NC) | North Carolina 11th in population (2000) | |||
| 78 | Jeff Merkley (D-OR) | Oregon 28th in population (2000) | |||
| 79 | Mark Begich (D-AK) | Alaska 48th in population (2000) | |||
| 80 | Michael Bennet (D-CO) | January 21, 2009[14] | |||
| 81 | Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) | January 26, 2009[15] | |||
| 82 | Al Franken (D-MN) | July 7, 2009[16] | |||
| 83 | Scott Brown (R-MA) | February 4, 2010 | |||
| 84 | Joe Manchin (D-WV) | November 15, 2010 | Former Governor | ||
| 85 | Chris Coons (D-DE) | ||||
| 86 | Mark Kirk (R-IL) | November 29, 2010 | |||
| 87 | Dan Coats (R-IN)[17] | January 3, 2011 | Former Senator | ||
| 88 | Roy Blunt (R-MO) | Former Representative (14 years) | Missouri 18th in population (2000) | ||
| 89 | Jerry Moran (R-KS) | Kansas 33rd in population (2000) | |||
| 90 | Rob Portman (R-OH) | Former Representative (12 years) | |||
| 91 | John Boozman (R-AR) | Former Representative (10 years) | |||
| 92 | Pat Toomey (R-PA) | Former Representative (6 years) | |||
| 93 | John Hoeven (R-ND) | Former Governor | |||
| 94 | Marco Rubio (R-FL) | Florida 4th in population (2000) | |||
| 95 | Ron Johnson (R-WI) | Wisconsin 20th in population (2000) | |||
| 96 | Rand Paul (R-KY) | Kentucky 26th in population (2000) | |||
| 97 | Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) | Connecticut 29th in population (2000) | |||
| 98 | Mike Lee (R-UT) | Utah 34th in population (2000) | |||
| 99 | Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) | New Hampshire 42nd in population (2000) | |||
| 100 | Dean Heller (R-NV) | May 9, 2011 | |||
| Rank | Name | Seniority date | Second factor | Third factor | Committee and leadership positions |
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