The party leadership of the United States Senate refers to the officials elected by the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference to manage the affairs of each party in the Senate. Each party is led by a floor leader who directs the legislative agenda of their caucus in the Senate, and who is augmented by an Assistant Leader or Whip, and several other officials who work together to manage the floor schedule of legislation, enforce party discipline, and oversee efforts to maintain and grow the party's seats in the Senate.[1]
The constitutionally-defined Senate leadership roles are the Vice President of the United States, who serves as President of the Senate, and the President pro tempore, traditionally the seniormost member of the majority, who theoretically presides in the absence of the Vice President.[2]
Unlike committee chairmanships, leadership positions are not traditionally conferred on the basis of seniority, but are elected in closed-door caucuses.[3]
Since January 20, 2021, the Democratic Party has constituted a majority in the United States Senate.
| Rank | Position | Name | State | Notes[4] [5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Floor Leader | Senate Majority Leader | ||
2 | Floor Whip | Dick Durbin | Illinois | Senate Majority Whip |
3 | Assistant Floor Leader | The third-ranking democrat in the Senate. Position created in 2016 (remove this: after Reid's retirement to settle possible rivalry between Murray and Durbin for the whip post) and abolished in 2023 (after Murray's transition to President Pro Temp. | ||
3 | Chair of Policy and Communications Committee | Responsible for relations between Senate committees and the Senate Democratic Conference | ||
4 | Steering Chair of the Steering and Outreach Committee | Responsible for fostering relations between Senate Democrats and community leaders and interest groups - chair split with Senator Sanders | ||
5 | Vice Chairs of the Democratic Caucus | Mark Warner | Virginia | Position created for Schumer after successful tenure as DSCC chairman |
| Massachusetts | ||||
6 | Outreach Chair of the Steering and Outreach Committee | Bernie Sanders | Vermont | Responsible for fostering relations between Senate Democrats and community leaders and interest groups - chair split with Senator Klobuchar |
7 | Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus | Responsible for managing the policy agenda for the Senate Democratic Caucus. | ||
8 | Vice Chair of Policy and Communications Committee | Joe Manchin | West Virginia | Assists caucus with policy proposals, outreach, legislative research, and party unity |
9 | Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee | Gary Peters | Michigan | Responsible for electing and reelecting Democrats to the Senate by organizing fundraising to candidate recruitment. |
10 | Vice Chair of the Democratic Steering Committee | Jeanne Shaheen | New Hampshirite | Assists the Chair with fostering relations between Senate Democrats and community leaders and interest groups. |
| Vice Chair of the Democratic Outreach Committee | Catherine Cortez Masto | Nevada | ||
11 | Deputy Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus | Responsible for assisting the Caucus Secretary in managing the policy agenda for the Senate Democratic Caucus. | ||
- | Vice Chair of the Democratic Steering Committee | Jeanne Shaheen | New Hampshire | Assists the Chair with fostering relations between Senate Democrats and community leaders and interest groups. |
- | Vice Chairs of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee | Tina Smith | Minnesota | Assists the Chair for electing and reelecting Democrats to the Senate by organizing fundraising to candidate recruitment. |
| Alex Padilla | California | |||
- | Senate Democratic Chief Deputy Whip | Jeff Merkley | Oregon | Assists the Majority Whip in gathering the votes of the Democratic party on major issues. |
Presiding Officials
| Rank | Position | Name | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | President of the Senate | (California) | Not a Senator; see Vice President of the United StatesIn practicality, only an ex officio leadership member due to the Vice President's Executive Branch nature | |
2 | Senate President Pro Tempore | Patty Murray[6] | Washington | Usually the longest serving member of the majority party; honorary member of the leadership team. |
| Rank | Position | Name | State | Notes[7] [8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Floor leader | Senate Minority Leader | ||
2 | Floor Whip | Senate Minority Whip | ||
3 | Republican Conference Chair | Oversees floor leader election, helps lead policy initiatives and policy proposals | ||
4 | Republican Policy Committee Chair | Joni Ernst[9] | Policy liaison between committees and conference legislation | |
5 | Republican Conference Vice Chair | Shelley Moore Capito[10] | West Virginia | Takes minutes and assists chair with conference operations |
6 | Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee | Steve Daines[11] | Montana | Responsible for overseeing efforts to elect Republicans to the Senate |
- | Senate President Pro Tempore Emeritus | Republican senator who was the previous (emeritus) president pro tem when the Republicans were in the majority, honorary member of Republican leadership. | ||