The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders (also called Senate Floor Leaders) are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, 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.
Many state senates are organized in the same way as the United States Senate.
The incoming 111th Congress will see an enlarged Democratic majority of at least 55 Democrats, plus the two independents, for a caucus majority of at least 57. The 2008 Minnesota Senate election has yet to be decided, and the fate of the vacant seat once belonging to President-elect Barack Obama is now uncertain following charges laid against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich related to the appointment of his replacement. Vice-President-Elect Joseph Biden (D-DE) plans to resign soon after being seated for a new Senate term on January 5. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) plans to resign after confirmation as Secretary of State. Replacements for both will be named by Democratic governors.
The incumbent floor leaders are Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada and Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, respectively.
History
The Democrats began this practice starting in 1920 while they were in the minority. In 1925 the majority (of the time) Republicans also adopted this language when Charles Curtis became the first 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 longest-serving (most senior) 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, in part so they may learn proper parliamentary procedure. For these reasons, it is the Majority Leader who in practice manages the Senate.
In recent years, it has become more common for the leader of the minority party to be referred to as the leader of his party ("Democratic Leader" or "Republican Leader") instead of as "Minority Leader."
List of Senate floor leaders
The Democratic Party first selected a leader in 1920. The Republican Party first formally designated a leader in 1925.
