President pro tempore of the United States Senate

President Pro Tempore of
the United States Senate
Incumbent
Orrin Hatch

since January 6, 2015
Style Mr. President
(Informal and within the Senate)
The Honorable
(Formal)
Appointer Elected by the U.S. Senate
Inaugural holder John Langdon
April 6, 1789
Formation U.S. Constitution
March 4, 1789
Succession Third
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
the United States

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The President pro tempore (/ˌpr ˈtɛmpər/ or /ˌpr ˈtɛmpər/),[1] also president pro tem, is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. According to the United States Constitution, the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate, despite not being a senator, and the Senate must choose a president pro tempore. Since 1890, the most senior senator in the majority party has generally been chosen to be president pro tempore; this tradition has been observed without interruption since 1949.[2]

During the Vice President's absence, the president pro tempore is empowered to preside over Senate sessions. In practice, neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore usually presides; instead, the duty of presiding officer is rotated among junior senators of the majority party to give them experience in parliamentary procedure.[3]

The president pro tempore is third in the line of succession to the presidency, after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and ahead of the Secretary of State.[4]

Orrin Hatch, a Republican and senior senator from Utah, is the president pro tempore of the Senate, having assumed office in January 2015.

Power and responsibilities

The office of president pro tempore is created by Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution:[5]

The Senate shall choose their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

Although the position is in some ways analogous to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the powers of the president pro tempore are far more limited. In the Senate, most power rests with party leaders and individual senators, but as the chamber's presiding officer, the president pro tempore is authorized to perform certain duties in the absence of the Vice President, including ruling on points of order.[6] Additionally, under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, the president pro tempore and the speaker are the two authorities to whom declarations must be transmitted that the president is unable to perform the duties of the office, or is able to resume doing so. The president pro tempore is third in the line of presidential succession, following the vice president and the speaker.[4][6] Additional duties include appointment of various congressional officers, certain commissions, advisory boards, and committees and joint supervision of the congressional page school.[6] The president pro tempore is the designated legal recipient of various reports to the Senate, including War Powers Act reports under which he or she, jointly with the speaker, may have the president call Congress back into session. The officeholder is an ex officio member of various boards and commissions. With the secretary and sergeant at arms, the president pro tempore maintains order in Senate portions of the Capitol and Senate buildings.[6][7]

History

Benjamin Wade came within one vote of being the first president pro tempore to succeed to the presidency after the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson in 1868.

The office of president pro tempore was established by the Constitution of the United States in 1789. The first president pro tempore, John Langdon, was elected on April 6 the same year.[6] Originally, the president pro tempore was appointed on an intermittent basis when the vice president was not present to preside over the Senate. Until the 1960s, it was common practice for the vice president to preside over daily Senate sessions, so the president pro tempore rarely presided unless the vice presidency became vacant.[8]

Until 1891, the president pro tempore only served until the return of the vice president to the chair or the adjournment of a session of Congress. Between 1792 and 1886, the president pro tempore was second in the line of presidential succession following the vice president and preceding the speaker.[8]

When President Andrew Johnson, who had no vice president, was impeached and tried in 1868, Senate President pro tempore Benjamin Franklin Wade was next in line to the presidency. Wade's radicalism is thought by many historians to be a major reason why the Senate, which did not want to see Wade in the White House, acquitted Johnson.[9] The president pro tempore and the speaker were removed from the line of succession in 1886, but were restored in 1947. This time however the president pro tempore followed the speaker.[6]

Following the resignation (for health reasons) of President pro tempore William P. Frye, a Senate divided among progressive Republicans, conservative Republicans, and Democrats reached a compromise by which each of their candidates would rotate holding the office from 1911 to 1913 (see below, #62nd Congress).[6]

Only three former presidents pro tempore ever became vice president: John Tyler, William R. King and Charles Curtis. Tyler is also the only one to have become president, when he succeeded William Henry Harrison in 1841.

Related officials

Acting president pro tempore

While the president pro tempore does have other official duties, the holders of the office have, like the vice president, over time ceased presiding over the Senate on a daily basis, owing to the mundane and ceremonial nature of the position.[8] Furthermore, as the president pro tempore is now usually the most senior senator of the majority party, he or she most likely also chairs a major Senate committee and has other significant demands on his or her time. Therefore, the president pro tempore has less time now than in the past to preside daily over the Senate. Instead, junior senators from the majority party are designated acting president pro tempore to preside over the Senate.[10] This allows junior senators to learn proper parliamentary procedure.[3]

Permanent Acting President pro tempore

In June 1963, because of the illness of president pro tempore Carl Hayden, Senator Lee Metcalf was designated permanent acting president pro tempore. No term was imposed on this designation, so Metcalf retained it until he died in office in 1978.[7]

Deputy President pro tempore

Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota) was the first Deputy President pro tempore in 1977–1978

The ceremonial post of Deputy President pro tempore was created for Hubert Humphrey, a former vice president, in 1977 following his losing bid to become the Senate majority leader.[11] The Senate resolution creating the position stated that any former president or former vice president serving in the Senate would be entitled to this position, though none has served since Humphrey's death in 1978,[7] and former vice president Walter Mondale, who sought his former Senate seat in Minnesota in 2002, is the only one to have tried. Andrew Johnson is the only former president to have subsequently served in the Senate.

George J. Mitchell was elected deputy president pro tempore in 1987, because of the illness of president pro tempore John C. Stennis, similar to Metcalf's earlier designation as Permanent Acting President pro tempore. The office has remained vacant since 1988, and no senator other than Humphrey and Mitchell has held it since its creation.[7]

The post is largely honorary and ceremonial, but comes with a salary increase. By statute, the compensation granted to the position holder equals the rate of annual compensation paid to the president pro tempore, majority leader, and minority leader. (See 2 U.S.C. § 32a.)[7]

President pro tempore emeritus

Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), former president pro tempore, and most recent president pro tempore emeritus.

Since 2001, the honorary title of president pro tempore emeritus has been given to a Senator of the minority party who has previously served as president pro tempore. The position has been held by Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina) (2001-2003), Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) (2003-2007), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) (2007-2009) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) (2015–Present).

The position was created for Thurmond when the Democratic Party regained a majority in the Senate in June 2001.[12] With the change in party control, Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia replaced Thurmond as president pro tempore, reclaiming a position he had previously held from 1989 to 1995 and briefly in January 2001. Thurmond's retirement from the Senate on January 3, 2003, coincided with a change from Democratic to Republican control, making Stevens president pro tempore and Byrd the second president pro tempore emeritus. Byrd returned as president pro tempore, and Stevens became the third president pro tempore emeritus, when the Democrats gained control of the Senate in 2007.[7] While a president pro tempore emeritus has no official duties, he is entitled to an increase in staff[13] and advises party leaders on the functions of the Senate.

The office's accompanying budget increase was removed toward the end of the 113th Congress, shortly before Patrick Leahy was to become the first holder of the title in six years. Quoted in CQ Roll Call, Leahy commented, "They didn't keep their commitment. They want to treat us differently than we treated them, and so they've got that right. It seems kind of petty, but it really doesn't matter to me. I've got plenty of funding, plenty of good staff."[14]

Salary

The salary of the president pro tempore for 2012 was $193,400, equal to that of the majority leaders and minority leaders of both houses of Congress. If there is a vacancy in the office of vice president, then the salary would be the same as that of the vice president, $230,700.[7]

List of Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate

Before 1890, the Senate elected a president pro tempore only for the period when the vice president would be absent.[7]

Congress President pro tempore Party State Years
1st Congress John Langdon Pro-
Administration
New Hampshire April 6, 1789 –
April 21, 1789
August 7, 1789 –
August 9, 1789
2nd Congress Richard Henry Lee Anti-
Administration
Virginia April 18, 1792 –
October 8, 1792
John Langdon Pro-
Administration
New Hampshire November 5, 1792 –
December 4, 1792
3rd Congress March 4, 1793 –
December 2, 1793
Ralph Izard Pro-
Administration
South Carolina May 31, 1794 –
November 9, 1794
Henry Tazewell Anti-
Administration
Virginia February 20, 1795 –
March 3, 1795
4th Congress Democratic-
Republican
March 4, 1795 –
June 7, 1795
Samuel Livermore Federalist New Hampshire May 6, 1796 –
December 4, 1796
William Bingham Federalist Pennsylvania February 16, 1797 –
March 3, 1797
5th Congress William Bradford Federalist Rhode Island July 6, 1797 –
October 1797
Jacob Read Federalist South Carolina November 22, 1797 –
December 12, 1797
Theodore Sedgwick Federalist Massachusetts June 27, 1798 –
December 5, 1798
John Laurance Federalist New York December 6, 1798 –
December 27, 1798
James Ross Federalist Pennsylvania March 1, 1799 –
December 1, 1799
6th Congress Samuel Livermore Federalist New Hampshire December 2, 1799 –
December 29, 1799
Uriah Tracy Federalist Connecticut May 14, 1800 –
November 16, 1800
John E. Howard Federalist Maryland November 21, 1800 –
November 27, 1800
James Hillhouse Federalist Connecticut February 28, 1801 –
March 3, 1801
7th Congress Abraham Baldwin Democratic-
Republican
Georgia December 7, 1801 –
January 14, 1802
April 17, 1802 –
December 13, 1802
Stephen R. Bradley Democratic-
Republican
Vermont December 14, 1802 –
January 18, 1803
February 25, 1803
March 2, 1803 –
October 16, 1803
8th Congress John Brown Democratic-
Republican
Kentucky October 17, 1803 –
December 6, 1803
January 23, 1804 –
February 26, 1804
Jesse Franklin Democratic-
Republican
North Carolina March 10, 1804 –
November 4, 1804
Joseph Anderson Democratic-
Republican
Tennessee January 15, 1805 –
February 3, 1805
February 28, 1805
March 2, 1805 –
March 4, 1805
9th Congress Samuel Smith Democratic-
Republican
Maryland December 2, 1805 –
December 15, 1805
March 18, 1806 –
November 30, 1806
March 2, 1807 –
October 25, 1807
10th Congress April 16, 1808 –
November 6, 1808
Stephen R. Bradley Democratic-
Republican
Vermont December 28, 1808 –
January 8, 1809
John Milledge Democratic-
Republican
Georgia January 30, 1809 –
March 3, 1809
11th Congress March 4, 1809 –
May 21, 1809
Andrew Gregg Democratic-
Republican
Pennsylvania June 26, 1809 –
December 18, 1809
John Gaillard Democratic-
Republican
South Carolina February 28, 1810 –
March 2, 1810
April 17, 1810 –
December 11, 1810
John Pope Democratic-
Republican
Kentucky February 23, 1811 –
November 3, 1811
12th Congress William H. Crawford Democratic-
Republican
Georgia March 24, 1812 –
March 3, 1813
13th Congress March 4, 1813 –
March 23, 1813
Joseph B. Varnum Democratic-
Republican
Massachusetts December 6, 1813 –
February 3, 1814
John Gaillard Democratic-
Republican
South Carolina November 25, 1814 –
December 3, 1815
14th Congress December 4, 1815 –
March 3, 1817
15th Congress March 4, 1817
March 6, 1817 –
February 18, 1818
March 31, 1818 –
January 5, 1819
James Barbour Democratic-
Republican
Virginia February 15, 1819 –
December 5, 1819
16th Congress December 6, 1819 –
December 26, 1819
John Gaillard Democratic-
Republican
South Carolina January 25, 1820 –
December 2, 1821
17th Congress December 3, 1821 –
December 27, 1821
February 1, 1822 –
December 2, 1822
February 19, 1823 –
November 30, 1823
18th Congress December 1, 1823 –
January 20, 1824
May 21, 1824 –
March 3, 1825
19th Congress March 9, 1825 –
December 4, 1825
Nathaniel Macon Democratic-
Republican
North Carolina May 20, 1826 –
December 3, 1826
January 2, 1827 –
February 13, 1827
March 2, 1827 –
December 2, 1827
20th Congress Samuel Smith Jacksonian Maryland May 15, 1828 –
December 18, 1828
21st Congress Democratic Maryland March 13, 1829 –
December 10, 1829
May 20, 1830 –
December 31, 1830
March 1, 1831 –
December 4, 1831
22nd Congress December 5, 1831 –
December 11, 1831
Littleton Tazewell Democratic Virginia July 9, 1832 –
July 16, 1832
Hugh Lawson White Democratic Tennessee December 3, 1832 –
December 1, 1833
23rd Congress December 2, 1833 –
December 15, 1833
George Poindexter Whig Mississippi June 28, 1834 –
November 30, 1834
John Tyler Whig Virginia March 3, 1835 –
December 6, 1835
24th Congress William R. King Democratic Alabama July 1, 1836 –
December 4, 1836
January 28, 1837 –
March 3, 1837
25th Congress March 7, 1837 –
September 3, 1837
October 13, 1837 –
December 3, 1837
July 2, 1838 –
December 18, 1838
February 25, 1839 –
December 1, 1839
26th Congress December 2, 1839 –
December 26, 1839
July 3, 1840 –
December 15, 1840
March 3, 1841
27th Congress March 4, 1841
Samuel Southard Whig New Jersey March 11, 1841 –
May 31, 1842
Willie P. Mangum Whig North Carolina May 31, 1842 –
December 3, 1843
28th Congress December 4, 1843 –
March 3, 1845
29th Congress March 4, 1845
Ambrose H. Sevier Democratic Arkansas December 27, 1845
David R. Atchison Democratic Missouri August 8, 1846 –
December 6, 1846
January 11, 1847 –
January 13, 1847
March 3, 1847 –
December 5, 1847
30th Congress February 2, 1848 –
February 8, 1848
June 1, 1848 –
June 14, 1848
June 26, 1848 –
June 29, 1848
July 29, 1848 –
December 4, 1848
December 26, 1848 –
January 1, 1849
March 2, 1849 –
March 4, 1849
31st Congress March 5, 1849
March 16, 1849 –
December 2, 1849
William R. King Democratic Alabama May 6, 1850 –
May 19, 1850
July 11, 1850 –
March 3, 1851
32nd Congress March 4, 1851 –
December 20, 1852
David R. Atchison Democratic Missouri December 20, 1852 –
March 3, 1853
33rd Congress March 4, 1853 –
December 4, 1854
Lewis Cass Democratic Michigan December 4, 1854
Jesse D. Bright Democratic Indiana December 5, 1854 –
June 9, 1856
34th Congress
Charles E. Stuart Democratic Michigan June 9, 1856 –
June 10, 1856
Jesse D. Bright Democratic Indiana June 11, 1856 –
January 6, 1857
James M. Mason Democratic Virginia January 6, 1857 –
March 3, 1857
35th Congress March 4, 1857
Thomas J. Rusk Democratic Texas March 14, 1857 –
July 29, 1857
Benjamin Fitzpatrick Democratic Alabama December 7, 1857 –
December 20, 1857
March 29, 1858 –
May 2, 1858
June 14, 1858 –
December 5, 1858
January 19, 1859
January 25, 1859 –
February 9, 1859
36th Congress March 9, 1859 –
December 4, 1859
December 19, 1859 –
January 15, 1860
February 20, 1860 –
February 26, 1860
Jesse D. Bright Democratic Indiana June 12, 1860 –
June 13, 1860
Benjamin Fitzpatrick Democratic Alabama June 26, 1860 –
December 2, 1860
Solomon Foot Republican Vermont February 16, 1861 –
February 17, 1861
37th Congress March 23, 1861 –
July 3, 1861
July 18, 1861 –
December 1, 1861
January 15, 1862
March 31, 1862 –
May 21, 1862
June 19, 1862 –
December 12, 1862
February 18, 1863 –
March 3, 1863
38th Congress March 4, 1863 –
December 6, 1863
December 18, 1863 –
December 20, 1863
February 23, 1864
March 11, 1864 –
March 13, 1864
April 11, 1864 –
April 13, 1864
Daniel Clark Republican New Hampshire April 26, 1864 –
January 4, 1865
February 9, 1865 –
February 19, 1865
39th Congress Lafayette S. Foster Republican Connecticut March 7, 1865 –
March 2, 1867
Benjamin F. Wade Republican Ohio March 2, 1867 –
March 3, 1867
40th Congress March 4, 1867 –
March 3, 1869
41st Congress Henry B. Anthony Republican Rhode Island March 23, 1869 –
March 28, 1869
April 9, 1869 –
December 5, 1869
May 28, 1870 –
June 2, 1870
July 1, 1870 –
July 5, 1870
July 14, 1870 –
December 4, 1870
42nd Congress March 10, 1871 –
March 12, 1871
April 17, 1871 –
May 9, 1871
May 23, 1871 –
December 3, 1871
December 21, 1871 –
January 7, 1872
February 23, 1872 –
February 25, 1872
June 8, 1872 –
December 1, 1872
December 4, 1872 –
December 8, 1872
December 13, 1872 –
December 15, 1872
December 20, 1872 –
January 5, 1873
January 24, 1873
43rd Congress Matthew H. Carpenter Republican Wisconsin March 12, 1873 –
March 13, 1873
March 26, 1873 –
November 30, 1873
December 11, 1873 –
December 6, 1874
December 23, 1874 –
January 4, 1875
Henry B. Anthony Republican Rhode Island January 25, 1875 –
January 31, 1875
February 15, 1875 –
February 17, 1875
44th Congress Thomas W. Ferry Republican Michigan March 9, 1875 –
March 10, 1875
March 19, 1875 –
March 4, 1877
45th Congress March 5, 1877
February 26, 1878 –
March 3, 1878
April 17, 1878 –
June 20, 1878
December 2, 1878 –
March 3, 1879
46th Congress Allen G. Thurman Democratic Ohio April 15, 1879 –
November 30, 1879
April 7, 1880 –
April 14, 1880
May 6, 1880 –
December 5, 1880
47th Congress Thomas F. Bayard, Sr. Democratic Delaware October 10, 1881 –
October 13, 1881
David Davis Independent Illinois October 13, 1881 –
March 3, 1883
George F. Edmunds Republican Vermont March 3, 1883 –
December 2, 1883
48th Congress December 3, 1883 –
March 3, 1885
49th Congress John Sherman Republican Ohio December 7, 1885 –
February 26, 1887
John James Ingalls Republican Kansas February 26, 1887 –
December 4, 1887
50th Congress December 5, 1887 –
March 3, 1889
51st Congress March 17, 1889
April 2, 1889 –
December 1, 1889
December 5, 1889 –
December 10, 1889
February 28, 1890 –
March 18, 1890
Since 1890, the president pro tempore has held office continuously until the election of another president pro tempore.[7]
51st Congress John J. Ingalls Republican Kansas April 3, 1890 –
March 2, 1891
52nd Congress Charles F. Manderson Republican Nebraska March 2, 1891 –
March 22, 1893
53rd Congress Isham G. Harris Democratic Tennessee March 22, 1893 –
January 7, 1895
Matt W. Ransom Democratic North Carolina January 7, 1895 –
January 10, 1895
Isham G. Harris Democratic Tennessee January 10, 1895 –
March 4, 1895
54th Congress William P. Frye Republican Maine February 7, 1896 –
April 27, 1911
55th Congress
56th Congress
57th Congress
58th Congress
59th Congress
60th Congress
61st Congress
62nd Congress
William P. Frye resigned due to ill health on April 27, 1911. For the remainder of the 62nd Congress, the office rotated among five Senators. The Senate at that time was split between progressive Republicans, conservative Republicans, and Democrats. Each put forth a candidate, and the ballots were deadlocked until August when a compromise was reached. Democrat Augustus Bacon served as pro tempore for one day on August 14, 1911, and thereafter he and four Republicans rotated holding the seat for the remainder of the 62nd Congress.
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia August 14, 1911
Charles Curtis Republican Kansas December 4, 1911 –
December 12, 1911
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia January 15, 1912 –
January 17, 1912
Jacob H. Gallinger Republican New Hampshire February 12, 1912 –
February 14, 1912
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia March 11, 1912 –
March 12, 1912
Frank B. Brandegee Republican Connecticut March 25, 1912 –
March 26, 1912
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia April 8, 1912, and
April 26, 1912 –
April 27, 1912, and
May 7, 1912, and
May 10, 1912
Henry Cabot Lodge Republican Massachusetts May 25, 1912
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia May 30, 1912 –
June 3, 1912, and
June 13, 1912 –
July 5, 1912
Jacob H. Gallinger Republican New Hampshire July 6, 1912 –
July 31, 1912
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia August 1, 1912 –
August 10, 1912
Jacob H. Gallinger Republican New Hampshire August 12, 1912 –
August 26, 1912
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia August 27, 1912 –
December 15, 1912
Jacob H. Gallinger Republican New Hampshire December 16, 1912, and
January 4, 1913
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia January 5, 1913 –
January 18, 1913
Jacob H. Gallinger Republican New Hampshire January 19, 1913 –
February 1, 1913
Augustus O. Bacon Democratic Georgia February 2, 1913 –
February 15, 1913
Jacob H. Gallinger Republican New Hampshire February 16, 1913 –
March 3, 1913
63rd Congress
64th Congress
James Paul Clarke Democratic Arkansas March 13, 1913 –
October 1, 1916
64th Congress
65th Congress
Willard Saulsbury, Jr. Democratic Delaware December 14, 1916 –
March 3, 1919
66th Congress
67th Congress
68th Congress
Albert B. Cummins Republican Iowa May 19, 1919 –
March 6, 1925
69th Congress
70th Congress
71st Congress
72nd Congress
George H. Moses Republican New Hampshire March 6, 1925 –
March 3, 1933
73rd Congress
74th Congress
75th Congress
76th Congress
Key Pittman Democratic Nevada March 9, 1933 –
November 10, 1940
76th Congress William H. King Democratic Utah November 19, 1940 –
January 3, 1941
77th Congress Pat Harrison Democratic Mississippi January 6 –
June 22, 1941
77th Congress
78th Congress
Carter Glass Democratic Virginia July 10, 1941 –
January 6, 1945
79th Congress Kenneth McKellar Democratic Tennessee January 6, 1945 –
January 4, 1947
80th Congress Arthur H. Vandenberg Republican Michigan January 4, 1947 –
January 3, 1949
81st Congress
82nd Congress
Kenneth McKellar Democratic Tennessee January 3, 1949 –
January 3, 1953
83rd Congress Styles Bridges Republican New Hampshire January 3, 1953 –
January 5, 1955
84th Congress Walter F. George Democratic Georgia January 5, 1955 –
January 3, 1957
85th Congress
86th Congress
87th Congress
88th Congress
89th Congress
90th Congress
Carl Hayden Democratic Arizona January 3, 1957 –
January 3, 1969
91st Congress Richard Russell, Jr. Democratic Georgia January 3, 1969 –
January 21, 1971
92nd Congress Allen J. Ellender Democratic Louisiana January 22, 1971 –
July 27, 1972
92nd Congress
93rd Congress
94th Congress
95th Congress
James Eastland Democratic Mississippi July 28, 1972 –
December 27, 1978
96th Congress Warren Magnuson Democratic Washington January 15, 1979 –
December 3, 1980
Milton Young Republican North Dakota December 5, 1980
Warren Magnuson Democratic Washington December 5, 1980 –
January 3, 1981
97th Congress
98th Congress
99th Congress
Strom Thurmond Republican South Carolina January 5, 1981 –
January 6, 1987
100th Congress John C. Stennis Democratic Mississippi January 6, 1987 –
January 3, 1989
101st Congress
102nd Congress
103rd Congress
Robert Byrd Democratic West Virginia January 3, 1989 –
January 4, 1995
104th Congress
105th Congress
106th Congress
Strom Thurmond Republican South Carolina January 4, 1995 –
January 3, 2001
107th Congress Robert Byrd Democratic West Virginia January 3, 2001 –
January 20, 2001
Strom Thurmond Republican South Carolina January 20, 2001 –
June 6, 2001
Robert Byrd Democratic West Virginia June 6, 2001 –
January 3, 2003
108th Congress
109th Congress
Ted Stevens Republican Alaska January 3, 2003 –
January 4, 2007
110th Congress
111th Congress
Robert Byrd Democratic West Virginia January 4, 2007 –
June 28, 2010
111th Congress
112th Congress
Daniel Inouye Democratic Hawaii June 28, 2010 –
December 17, 2012
112th Congress
113th Congress
Patrick Leahy Democratic Vermont December 17, 2012 –
January 6, 2015
114th Congress Orrin Hatch Republican Utah January 6, 2015 –
Present

List of Presidents pro tempore per state

No President pro tempore has served from: California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, or Wyoming.

Number State Presidents pro tem
7 Virginia Richard Henry Lee
Henry Tazewell
James Barbour
Littleton Tazewell
John Tyler
James M. Mason
Carter Glass
6 Georgia Abraham Baldwin
John Milledge
William H. Crawford
Augustus O. Bacon
Walter F. George
Richard Russell, Jr.
New Hampshire John Langdon
Samuel Livermore
Daniel Clark
Jacob H. Gallinger
George H. Moses
Styles Bridges
4 Connecticut Uriah Tracy
James Hillhouse
Lafayette S. Foster
Frank B. Brandegee
Michigan Lewis Cass
Charles E. Stuart
Thomas W. Ferry
Arthur H. Vandenberg
Mississippi George Poindexter
Pat Harrison
James Eastland
John C. Stennis
North Carolina Jesse Franklin
Nathaniel Macon
Willie Person Mangum
Matt Whitaker Ransom
South Carolina Ralph Izard
Jacob Read
John Gaillard
Strom Thurmond
Tennessee Joseph Anderson
Hugh Lawson White
Isham G. Harris
Kenneth McKellar
Vermont Stephen R. Bradley
George F. Edmunds
Solomon Foot
Patrick Leahy
3 Massachusetts Theodore Sedgwick
Joseph B. Varnum
Henry Cabot Lodge
Ohio Benjamin Wade
Allen G. Thurman
John Sherman
Pennsylvania William Bingham
James Ross
Andrew Gregg
2 Alabama William R. King
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
Arkansas Ambrose H. Sevier
James Paul Clarke
Delaware Thomas F. Bayard
Willard Saulsbury, Jr.
Kansas John James Ingalls
Charles Curtis
Kentucky John Brown
John Pope
Maryland John E. Howard
Samuel Smith
Rhode Island William Bradford
Henry B. Anthony
Utah William H. King
Orrin Hatch
1 Alaska Ted Stevens
Arizona Carl Hayden
Hawaii Daniel Inouye
Illinois David Davis
Indiana Jesse D. Bright
Iowa Albert B. Cummins
Louisiana Allen J. Ellender
Maine William P. Frye
Missouri David Rice Atchison
Nebraska Charles F. Manderson
Nevada Key Pittman
New Jersey Samuel Southard
New York John Laurance
North Dakota Milton Young
Texas Thomas Jefferson Rusk
Washington Warren Magnuson
West Virginia Robert Byrd
Wisconsin Matthew H. Carpenter

List of Presidents pro tempore emeritus

Congress President pro tempore emeritus Party State Years
107th Congress J. Strom Thurmond Republican South Carolina June 6, 2001 –
January 3, 2003
108th Congress
109th Congress
Robert C. Byrd Democratic West Virginia January 4, 2003 –
January 3, 2007
110th Congress Theodore F. Stevens Republican Alaska January 4, 2007 –
January 3, 2009
114th Congress Patrick Leahy Democratic Vermont January 6, 2015 –
Present

Note

Arthur Vandenberg (serving in 1947–1949) was the last president pro tempore not to be the senior member of the majority party, aside from the single day accorded Milton Young (serving in 1980), who was the retiring senior member of the party who had been elected to a majority in the incoming congress.

See also

References

  1. "Pro tempore Legal Definition". Lawyers.com.
  2. Davis, Christopher M. (December 20, 2012). The President Pro Tempore of the Senate: History and Authority of the Office (Report). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Hillary takes Senate gavel–for an hour". CNN. January 24, 2001.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mount, Steve. "Constitutional Topic: Presidential Line of Succession". USConstitution.net. Steve Mount. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  5. Kathy Gill. "US Senate Organization". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 "Senate President Pro Tempore". congresslink.org. Dirksen Congressional Center. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Sachs, Richard C. (January 22, 2003). "The President Pro Tempore of the Senate: History and Authority of the Office" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Richard E. Berg-Andersson (June 7, 2001). "A Brief History of Congressional Leadership". The Green Papers. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  9. Smith, Gene (1977). High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson. William Morrow & Company. ISBN 0-688-03072-6.
  10. Gold, Martin B.; Gupta, Dimple. "The Constitutional Option to Change Senate Rules and Procedures: A Majoritarian Means to Over Come the Filibuster*" (PDF). Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 28 (1): 211.
  11. "Hubert H. Humphrey". virtualology.com. Evisum Inc. 2000. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  12. S.Res. 103, adopted, June 6, 2001. "Thanking and Electing Strom Thurmond President pro tempore emeritus."
  13. 2 U.S.C. § 32b
  14. Lesniewski, Niels (December 10, 2014). "Leahy: 'Kind of Petty' Not to Fund Emeritus Office in 'Cromnibus'". CQ Roll Call. Retrieved January 7, 2015.

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John Kerry