United States Senate Party Leader

Mitch McConnell (R), the current majority leader

Charles Schumer (D), the current minority leader

The Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader are senators in the Senate of the United States and the two speakers of the majority and minority fractions in the United States Senate. In this capacity they are the party leaders of the Senate of the United States of America , also known as Floor Leaders of the Senate .

The position and rights of the party leaders are not defined in the constitution , but have developed over time. The Democrats elected their first speaker in the Senate in 1920 and the Republicans in 1925. The respective parliamentary group leader in the Senate has developed into one of the main representatives of his party.

The Assistant Majority Leader and the Assistant Minority Leader are the highest-ranking members of the respective party in the Senate after the Majority Leader and Minority Leader, respectively. Commonly these are also known as Majority Whip and Minority Whip . Your primary task is to collect as many votes as possible for the parties on important issues and draft laws. If no Floor Leader is present at a Senate meeting , the Whip takes on this role.

Tasks and choice

The parliamentary groups represented in the Senate elect their party leaders at a meeting at the beginning of the legislative period. The leader of the larger faction is automatically the majority leader, that of the smaller one is the minority leader. If both parties have the same number of seats, the majority party is the one to which the Vice President of the United States belongs, as the Vice President of the United States makes the decision in votes that end in a tie. The party leaders serve as the primary spokesperson for each party in the Senate; they direct the legislative and executive work of the parties and discuss the Senate calendar. Here the majority leader has the last word.

In parliamentary proceedings, the chairman of the session gives the majority leader the floor first, if several senators want to speak, then the minority leader.

Majority leader

Majority leader	image	Term of office	Assistant Majority Leader	image	Term of office	Political party
none			James Hamilton Lewis		May 28, 1913 to March 3, 1919	D.
Henry Cabot Lodge ( unofficial )		August 17, 1918 to November 9, 1924	Charles Curtis		March 4, 1919 to November 28, 1924	R.
Charles Curtis ( managing director until March 4, 1925 )		November 28, 1924 to March 4, 1929	Wesley Livsey Jones ( managing director until March 4, 1925 )		November 9, 1924 to March 4, 1929	R.
James Eli Watson		March 4, 1929 to March 3, 1933	Simeon Davison Fess		March 4, 1929 to January 3, 1933	R.
Joseph Taylor Robinson		March 4, 1933 to July 14, 1934	James Hamilton Lewis		March 4, 1933 to April 9, 1939	D.
Albums William Barkley		July 14, 1934 to January 3, 1937
			Sherman Minton		July 22, 1937 to January 3, 1941	D.
			Joseph Lister Hill		January 3, 1941 to January 3, 1947	D.
Wallace Humphrey White Jr.		January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1949	Kenneth Spicer Wherry		January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949	R.
Scott Wike Lucas		January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1951	Francis John Myers		January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1951	D.
Ernest William McFarland		January 3, 1951 to January 3, 1953	Lyndon Baines Johnson		January 3, 1951 to January 3, 1953	D.
Robert Alphonso Taft Sr.		January 3, 1953 to July 31, 1953	Leverett A. Saltonstall		January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1955	R.
William Fife Knowland		August 4, 1953 to January 3, 1955
Lyndon Baines Johnson		January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1961	Earle Chester Clements		January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1957	D.
			Michael Joseph Mansfield		January 3, 1957 to January 3, 1961	D.
Michael Joseph Mansfield		January 3, 1961 to January 3, 1977	Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr.		January 3, 1961 to December 29, 1964	D.
			Russell Billiu Long		January 3, 1965 to January 3, 1969	D.
			Edward Moore Kennedy		January 3, 1969 to January 3, 1971	D.
			Robert Carlyle Byrd		January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1977	D.
Robert Carlyle Byrd		January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1981	Alan MacGregor Cranston		January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1981	D.
Howard Henry Baker Jr.		January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1985	Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr.		January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1985	R.
Robert Joseph Dole		January 3, 1985 to January 3, 1987	Alan Kooi Simpson		January 3, 1985 to January 3, 1987	R.
Robert Carlyle Byrd		January 3, 1987 to January 3, 1989	Alan MacGregor Cranston		January 3, 1987 to January 3, 1991	D.
George John Mitchell Jr.		January 3, 1989 to January 3, 1995
			Wendell Hampton Ford		January 3, 1991 to January 3, 1995	D.
Robert Joseph Dole		January 3, 1995 to June 11, 1996	Chester Trent Lott Sr.		January 3, 1995 to June 12, 1996	R.
Chester Trent Lott Sr.		June 12, 1996 to January 3, 2001	Donald Lee Nickles		June 12, 1996 to January 3, 2001	R.
Thomas Andrew Daschle		January 3, 2001 to January 20, 2001	Harry Mason Reid		January 3, 2001 to January 20, 2001	D.
Chester Trent Lott Sr.		January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001	Donald Lee Nickles		January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001	R.
Thomas Andrew Daschle		June 6, 2001 to January 3, 2003	Harry Mason Reid		June 6, 2001 to January 3, 2003	D.
Chester Trent Lott Sr. ( unofficial )		November 12, 2002 to January 3, 2003	Donald Lee Nickles		November 12, 2003 to January 3, 2003	R.
William Harrison Deadline		January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2007	Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr.		January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2007	R.
Harry Mason Reid		January 3, 2007 to January 3, 2015	Richard Joseph Durbin		January 3, 2007 to January 3, 2015	D.
Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr.		since January 3, 2015	John Cornyn III		January 3, 2015 to January 3, 2019	R.
			John Randolph Thune		since January 3, 2019	R.

Minority leader

Minority leader	image	Term of office	Assistant Minority Leader	image	Term of office	Political party
none			James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.		December 6, 1915 to December 13, 1915	R.
			Charles Curtis		December 13, 1915 to March 4, 1919	R.
			Peter Goelet Gerry		March 4, 1919 to March 4, 1929
none
Oscar Wilder Underwood		April 27, 1920 to December 3, 1923				D.
Joseph Taylor Robinson		December 3, 1923 to March 4, 1933
			John Morris Sheppard		March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933	D.
Charles Linza McNary		March 4, 1933 to March 3, 1940	Felix Hebert		March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1935	R.
			none
Warren Robinson Austin ( executive )		March 3, 1940 to January 3, 1941				R.
Charles Linza McNary		January 3, 1941 to February 25, 1944
			Kenneth Spicer Wherry		January 3, 1943 to January 3, 1947	R.
Wallace Humphrey White Jr. ( managing director until January 3, 1945 )		February 25, 1944 to January 3, 1947				R.
Albums William Barkley		January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949	Scott Wike Lucas		January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949	D.
Kenneth Spicer Wherry		January 3, 1949 to November 29, 1951	Leverett A. Saltonstall		January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1953	R.
Henry Styles Bridges		January 8, 1952 to January 3, 1953
Lyndon Baines Johnson		January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1955	Earle Chester Clements		January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1955	R.
William Fife Knowland		January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1959	Leverett A. Saltonstall		January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1957	R.
			Everett McKinley Dirksen		January 3, 1957 to January 3, 1959	R.
Everett McKinley Dirksen		January 3, 1959 to September 7, 1969	Thomas Henry Kuchel		January 3, 1959 to January 3, 1969	R.
			Hugh Doggett Scott Jr.		January 3, 1969 to September 7, 1969	R.
Hugh Doggett Scott Jr.		September 7, 1969 to January 3, 1977	Robert Paul Griffin		September 7, 1969 to January 3, 1977	R.
Howard Henry Baker Jr.		January 3, 1977 to November 1, 1979	Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr.		January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1981	R.
Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. ( executive )		November 1, 1979 to March 5, 1980
Howard Henry Baker Jr.		March 5, 1980 to January 3, 1981
Robert Carlyle Byrd		January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1987	Alan MacGregor Cranston		January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1987	D.
Robert Joseph Dole		January 3, 1987 to January 3, 1995	Alan Kooi Simpson		January 3, 1987 to January 3, 1995	R.
Thomas Andrew Daschle		January 3, 1995 to January 3, 2001	Wendell Hampton Ford		January 3, 1995 to January 3, 1999	D.
			Harry Mason Reid		January 3, 1999 to January 3, 2001	D.
Chester Trent Lott Sr.		January 3, 2001 to January 20, 2001	Donald Lee Nickles		January 3, 2001 to January 20, 2001	R.
Thomas Andrew Daschle		January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001	Harry Mason Reid		January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001	D.
Chester Trent Lott Sr.		June 6, 2001 to January 3, 2003	Donald Lee Nickles		June 6, 2001 to January 3, 2003	R.
Thomas Andrew Daschle ( unofficial until January 3, 2003 )		November 12, 2002 to January 3, 2005	Harry Mason Reid		January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2005	D.
Harry Mason Reid		January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007	Richard Joseph Durbin		January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007	D.
Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr.		January 3, 2007 to January 3, 2015	Chester Trent Lott Sr.		January 3, 2007 to December 18, 2007	R.
			Jon Llewellyn Kyl		December 19, 2007 to January 3, 2013	R.
			John Cornyn III		January 3, 2013 to January 3, 2015	R.
Harry Mason Reid		January 3, 2015 to January 3, 2017	Richard Joseph Durbin		since January 3, 2015	D.
Charles Ellis Schumer		since January 3, 2017

Web links

• Majority and Minority Leaders and Party Whips

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} U.S. Senate: Majority and Minority Leaders. In: senate.gov. United States Senate, accessed March 18, 2020 . 
2. ↑ US Senate: Party Whips. In: senate.gov. United States Senate, accessed March 18, 2020 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} U.S. Senate: Party Division. In: senate.gov. United States Senate, accessed March 17, 2020 . 

1. ↑ ^{a b} The Republicans regained a majority after James Talent won an extraordinary election in Missouri on November 5, 2002, but there was no formal restructuring before the end of the legislature.