Talk:Party leaders of the United States Senate

Merge
Proposal: I suggest merging this article with United States Senate Minority Leader and List of Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate and renaming it United States Senate floor leader (or some name like that).

Reason: The chart in List of Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate is really good and would look good when all the articles were combined. Three articles seems superfluous. They can duplicate unnecessarily, too. &mdash;Markles 15:43, 18 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Support - Though, while it may be long, I think United States Senate Majority and Minority Leaders would work better than United States Senate Floor Leaders simply because I don't think "floor leader" is a widely used term. ayayayPolitical Lefty 05:32, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Suggestion: I think the page should be called "Senate Floor Leaders" or "Senate Leaders" so instead of just listing majority and minority leaders, we could also list Whips and the President Pro Tempore. This would even more help reducing duplications, and make it easier to find.

Suggestion: I suggest that if the Minority and Majority Leaders' pages must be merged, there should be more information on the Minority Leader, as it is sorely lacking on the current page.
 * Support per anonymous user's suggestion. I think combining all leaders is a good idea. —Markles 00:22, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Oppose: Floor Leader refers to more than just the U.S. Senate. It can also refer to the U.S. House, and legislative houses in other jurisdictions.—Markles 11:28, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Late 2002
How was it that Tom Daschle remained majority leader until January 2003? When in November 2002 Democratic Senators Paul Wellstone and Jean Carnahan were replaced with an independent and a Republican respectively.

I don't know which party Dean Barkley caucused with, but surely Jim Talent's entry alone would have been enough to tip control to the GOP. Without waiting for the expiration of the lame duck period. Dlw22 08:42, 31 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Very good point. As the Senate.gov website states,
 * "Senator Paul D. Wellstone (D-MN) died on October 25, 2002, and Independent Dean Barkley was appointed to fill the vacancy. The November 5, 2002 election brought to office elected Senator James Talent (R-MO), replacing appointed Senator Jean Carnahan (D-MO), shifting balance once again to the Republicans -- but no reorganization was completed at that time since the Senate was out of session."
 * I've tried to incorporate this information now into this article and into 107th United States Congress.—Markles 19:57, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
 * How is it that Sen. Daschle's service from June 6 2001 to January 3 2003 is divided into 3 seperate date blocks? This is a confusing factor that should be noted in the article - the purpose of the table is to list leaders and their times in service.  Throughout the table, regardless of changes, the only divider is time served in congress or a change of leadership - Daschle is the Maj. Leader during the same congress and yet appears 3 times?  A note is better than an appearance on the table here.  Comments?  I would like to correct this ASAP, as it is very confusing (as I said) Sahrin 01:02, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

Ernest McFarland
What's happened to Ernest McFarland, who was majority leader from 1951 to 1953? john k (talk) 15:43, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes. And what's happened to Styles Bridges as well? Darth Kalwejt (talk) 23:24, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

History
At the conclusion of the "History" section there was this incomplete sentence: "As an example, it is said that former Senator"

I don't know if it was made incomplete due to an earlier edit, or if the original contributer just didn't finish his thought.Vingold (talk) 12:37, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm interested in how Oscar Underwood is not also "unofficial", as was his counterpart, Henry Cabot Lodge.Mk5384 (talk) 11:34, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Infoboxes for assistant leaders
Why are the infoboxes for the Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders titled "Majority Whip" and "Minority Whip" if those are not the official titles? Erier2003 (talk) 21:41, 6 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Because it's the informal title. You can change it.—GoldRingChip 12:13, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

Ambiguous Wording
"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 Majority leader (and in turn, the first Senate Democratic Leader), while serving concurrently as Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus."

This paragraph seems to suggest that John Worth Kern should have been the first Senate Minority leader as the Democrats first started electing floor leaders while in the minority. Am I missing something? 199.188.194.110 (talk) 18:58, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

When can the party leaders be changed?
I came here to find out under what conditions a party can change it's leader. For example, can they do so at any time if the senators from one party are simply discontent with their leader? I've looked for an answer elsewhere and haven't found one yet. As far as I can tell, party leaders have historically been the same during each congress except when the party leader died in office, but is this necessarily the case? 67.161.244.192 (talk) 03:00, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

Answer
The majority or minority party caucus can elect a new leader at any time. They each have their own rules on how it's done. In the same fashion as in the beginning of a new legislative session, the caucus will have a private meeting and elect their leader. The Senate committee on Rules and Administration is made aware of any changes. This is necessary because US Laws and Senate rules/precedents make specific references to the majority and minority leaders. For example, I've seen wording in things like an adjournment resolution saying: "The majority leader, in consultation with the minority leader will ...etc. Hope that helps ;) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Asherkobin (talk • contribs) 22:46, 26 July 2015 (UTC)

115th Congress
Today marks the convention of the 115th Congress, and with it, a new Democratic leader; I have updated the tables at the top of the page to indicate Chuck Schumer as having taken over Harry Reid's job as Senate Minority Leader. However, I'm having trouble with the formatting of the table below. If anyone would like to pitch in and update, that'd be greatly appreciated. Frevangelion (talk) 12:44, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Done.—GoldRingChip 14:41, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Let's keep in mind, that the changes don't occur until Noon EST. GoodDay (talk) 15:42, 3 January 2017 (UTC)

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"See Also" links
I am wondering why Women in the United States Senate is in the See Also section, when there is no mention of any women, as far as I know. It appears to me that the link is unnecessary and that excluding it would be better. This article is for the party leader of the senate, and while there were no women leaders previously, the position does not exclude them. May I at least know why it was included? 216.107.203.147 (talk) 17:29, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

117th Congress Republican Majority
Currently, the Senate majority is Republican. Please do not change this page to reflect otherwise. Even if Democrats win both senate elections on January 6, the majority will not shift until the end of January. In that case, Democrats cannot hold a majority until Kamala Harris becomes vice president and the Georgia results are certified. If the majority switches, the page should reflect an intra-term shift, such as during the 107th congress. Thanks! Dr. Blazer (talk) 05:38, 6 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Can we put a January 3rd-20th Republican Majority, January 20th, 2021-January 3rd, 2023 TBA? Edwyth (talk) 08:11, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Support.

Someone please update the article to show McConnell as the majority leader. Schumer cannot be the majority leader until he is specifically voted majority leader. Prematurely listing him as the majority leader also precludes the possibility of another Senator becoming majority leader. SunnySydeRamsay (talk) 10:43, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

It needs to remain Republican Majority while it is still true. Dr. Blazer (talk) 23:13, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Typo
There's a minor typo in paragraph 2 sentence 3 incorrectly using the word 'if' instead of 'of' after the word 'Congress' Blazer675 (talk) 09:52, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * That appears to be the correct use of the word. —GoldRingChip 15:49, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 7 January 2021
Change "The Senate is currently composed of 51 Republicans, 46 Democrats, and 2 independents, both of whom caucus with the Democrats." to "The Senate is currently composed of 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 2 Independents, both of whom caucus with the Democrats." Discoinfirmary (talk) 16:57, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request should be approved information will be provided as soon as possible.

Current Incumbent Senators who will be leaving office:

- David Perdue | State: Georgia | Party Affiliation: Republican | How they Entered Office: Voted in during 2014 Senate Races.

- Kelly Loeffler | State: Georgia | Party Affiliation: Republican | How they Entered Office: Appointed by the Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, as Johnny Isakson left office due to multiple health issues. Senator Elects who will be entering office:

- Jon Ossof | State: Georgia | Party Affiliation: Democratic | How they Entered Office: Voted in during the Georgia Senate Runoff races in 2021

- Raphael Warnock | State: Georgia | Party Affiliation: Democratic | How they Entered Office: Voted in during the Georgia Special election in 2021

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 8 January 2021
Hey I would like to request that the Senate Majority Leader be set to Chuck Schumer as he is now the Senate Majority Leader and set Mitch McConnell to the Senate Minority Leader as the United States Special elections have finished and are now set int stone. Oakesmalon (talk) 04:00, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. – Jonesey95 (talk) 05:28, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

Majority
If there are 50 Republicans and 2 independents, will the Democrats still get to have their leader be the majority leader? If so, there should be an explanation of how (e.g., allying with independents and using the VP). Kdammers (talk) 16:02, 10 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Yes, those independents caucus with the Democrats. When the Senate votes to elect a new majority leader after Harris' inauguration, they will almost undoubtedly choose a Democrat to be majority leader. I support adding a footnote into the chart and article once this majority occurs. Dr. Blazer (talk) 03:39, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

Why is the McConnell the minority leader when their are 50 republicans and 48 democrats
Did the vice president and the 2 independents voted for Schumer? or did any republicans vote for Schumer? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.181.117.31 (talk) 11:13, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

The two independents caucus with the Democrats. Them and the VP support Schumer DeputyBeagle (talk) 23:59, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

Contradiction
This article says there are 4 independents caucusing with the Democratic party members for a total of 51, and Senate Democratic Caucus says 3 independents, again for a total of 51. — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  17:20, 5 June 2024 (UTC)