Party leaders of the United States Senate

Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate
Incumbent Mitch McConnell (R) since January 3, 2015
Inaugural holder	Henry Cabot Lodge (R)
Formation	April 27, 1920

Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate
Incumbent Harry Reid (D) since January 3, 2015
Inaugural holder	Oscar Underwood (D)
Formation	March 4, 1920

Majority Whip of the U.S. Senate (Republican Whip)
Incumbent John Cornyn since January 3, 2015
Style	Senator
Inaugural holder	James Wadsworth, Jr.
Formation	1915

Minority Whip of the U.S. Senate (Democratic Whip)
Incumbent Richard Durbin since January 3, 2015
Style	Senator
Inaugural holder	J. Hamilton Lewis
Formation	1913

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The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party caucuses that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. 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 his or her 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 the party leadership of the United States Senate. The main function of the Majority and Minority Whips is to gather votes on major issues. Because he or she is 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.

Many state senates are organized in the same way as the United States Senate.

Duties

Per 19 U.S.C. § 2191(c)(1), an implementing bill for a fast-track negotiating authority (trade promotion authority) trade agreement submitted by the President is introduced (by request) in the House by the majority leader of the House and (by request) in the Senate by the majority leader of the Senate.

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
63	March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1915	J. Hamilton Lewis	None	← D Maj	None	None
64	March 4, 1915 – March 4, ? 1915	James Wadsworth, Jr.
64	1915 ? – 1917	Charles Curtis
65	March 4, 1917 – March 4, 1919
66	March 4, 1919 – March 4, 1921	Peter Gerry	Oscar Underwood	R Maj →	Henry Cabot Lodge (unofficial)
67	March 4, 1921 – March 4, 1923
68	March 4, 1923 – November 9, 1924	Joseph Taylor Robinson
68	1925	Charles Curtis	Wesley Jones
69	March 4, 1925 – March 4, 1927
70	March 4, 1927 – March 4, 1929
71	March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1931	Morris Sheppard	James E. Watson	Simeon Fess
72	March 4, 1931 – March 4, 1933
73	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	J. Hamilton Lewis	← D Maj	Charles L. McNary	Felix Hebert
74	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1937	None^{[Note 1]}
75	January 3, 1937 – July 14, 1937
75	July 22, 1937 – January 3, 1939		Alben W. Barkley
76	January 3, 1939 – ?		Sherman Minton
76	1940		Warren Austin (acting)
77	January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943		Lister Hill	Charles L. McNary
78	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1945	Wallace H. White Jr. (acting)	Kenneth Wherry
79	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947	Wallace H. White Jr.
80	January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949	Scott Lucas	R Maj →
81	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951	Francis Myers	Scott W. Lucas	← D Maj	Kenneth S. Wherry	Leverett Saltonstall
82	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1952	Lyndon Johnson	Ernest McFarland
82	January 3, 1952 – January 3, 1953	Styles Bridges
83	January 3, 1953 – July 31, 1953	Earle Clements	Lyndon B. Johnson	R Maj →	Robert A. Taft
83	August 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955	William F. Knowland
84	January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957	← D Maj
85	January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1959	Mike Mansfield	Everett Dirksen
86	January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961	Everett M. Dirksen	Thomas Kuchel
87	January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1963	Hubert Humphrey	Mike Mansfield
88	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965
89	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967	Russell Long
90	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1969
91	January 3, 1969 – September 7, 1969	Ted Kennedy	Hugh Scott
91	September 24, 1969 – January 3, 1971	Hugh Scott	Robert Griffin
92	January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973	Robert Byrd
93	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975
94	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1977
95	January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979	Alan Cranston	Robert Byrd	Howard Baker	Ted Stevens
96	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981
97	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1983	R Maj →
98	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985
99	January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1987	Bob Dole	Alan Simpson
100	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989	← D Maj
101	January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1991	George Mitchell
102	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993	Wendell Ford
103	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
104	January 3, 1995 – June 12, 1996	Tom Daschle	R Maj →	Trent Lott
104	June 12, 1996 – January 3, 1997	Trent Lott	Don Nickles
105	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 1999
106	January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001	Harry Reid
107	January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001	← D Maj
	January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001	R Maj →
	June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003^{[Note 2]}	← D Maj
108	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005	R Maj →	Bill Frist	Mitch McConnell
109	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007	Richard Durbin	Harry Reid
110	January 3, 2007 – December 18, 2007	← D Maj	Mitch McConnell	Trent Lott
110	December 19, 2007 – January 3, 2009	Jon Kyl
111	January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
112	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013
113	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015	John Cornyn
114	January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017	R Maj →
Cong- ress	Dates	Democratic Whip	Democratic Leader	Majority	Republican Leader	Republican Whip

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

External links

Majority and Minority Leaders and Party Whips, via Senate.gov
Senate Majority
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