United States Senate: Difference between revisions

| background_color = {{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}

| election2      = <small>[[Inauguration of Joe Biden|January 20, 2021]]</small>

| election3      = <small>January 20, 2021 </small>

| election4      = <small>January 20, 2021 </small>

| election5      = <small>January 20, 2021 </small>

| election6      = <small>January 20, 2021 </small>

| election7      = <small>January 20, 2021 </small>

* {{nowrap|{{Color box|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (48)}}

* {{nowrap|{{Color box|#9999ff|border=darkgray}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] (2)}}{{efn|name=King|The independent senators, [[Angus King]] of Maine and [[Bernie Sanders]] of Vermont, [[Senate Democratic Caucus|caucus]] with the Democrats.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/11/14/165149633/maine-independent-angus-king-to-caucus-with-senate-democrats|title=Maine Independent Angus King To Caucus With Senate Democrats|website=[[Politico]]|date=November 14, 2012|access-date=November 28, 2020|quote=Angus King of Maine, who cruised to victory last week running as an independent, said Wednesday that he will caucus with Senate Democrats. [...] The Senate's other independent, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, also caucuses with the Democrats.}} </ref>}}

* {{nowrap|{{Color box|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (50)}}

| voting_system1 = [[Plurality voting]] in 46 states{{efn|[[Alaska]] (for its primary elections only), [[California]], and [[Washington (state)|Washington]] additionally utilize a [[nonpartisan blanket primary]], and [[Louisiana]] uses a [[Louisiana primary]], for their respective [[primary elections]].}}<br>{{collapsible list

|titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left

|title=Varies in 4 states

|[[Elections in Alaska|Alaska]] & [[Elections in Maine|Maine]]: {{nowrap|[[Instant-runoff voting]]}}

|[[Elections in Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] & [[Elections in Mississippi|Mississippi]]: {{nowrap|[[Two-round system]]}}

| next_election1 = [[2022 United States Senate elections|November 8, 2022]] {{small|(35 seats)}}

The '''United States Senate''' is the [[Upper house|upper chamber]] of the [[United States Congress]], with the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] being the [[Lower house|lower chamber]]. Together they compose the national [[Bicameralism|bicameral legislature]] of the [[United States]].

The composition and powers of the Senate are established by [[Article One of the United States Constitution]].<ref name="senate_a1_sec3">{{cite web | url=https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#a1_sec3 | title=Constitution of the United States | publisher=Senate.gov | date=March 26, 2009 | access-date=October 4, 2010}}</ref> The Senate is composed of [[#Membership|senators]], each of whom represents a single [[U.S. state|state]] in its entirety. Each state is equally represented by two senators who serve [[Classes of United States senators|staggered terms of six years]]. There are currently 100 senators representing the 50 states. The [[Vice President of the United States|vice president of the United States]] serves as presiding officer and president of the Senate by [[Ex officio member|virtue of that office]], and has a vote only if the senators are equally divided. In the vice president's absence, the [[President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore]], who is traditionally the senior member of the party holding a majority of seats, presides over the Senate.

As the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate has several powers of [[advice and consent]] which are unique to it. These include the approval of [[Treaty|treaties]], and the confirmation of [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet secretaries]], [[United States federal judge|federal judges]] (including [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States|Federal Supreme Court justices]]), [[Flag officer#United States|flag officers]], regulatory officials, [[Ambassadors of the United States|ambassadors]], [[United States federal executive departments|other federal executive officials]] and [[Uniformed services of the United States|federal uniformed officers]]. If no candidate receives a majority of [[Electoral College (United States)|electors]] for [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], the duty falls to the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office. The Senate conducts trials of those [[Impeachment in the United States|impeached]] by the House.

The Senate is widely considered both a more deliberative<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Amar|first=Vik D.|date=1988-01-01|title=The Senate and the Constitution|jstor=796343|journal=The Yale Law Journal|volume=97|issue=6|pages=1111–1130|doi=10.2307/796343|s2cid=53702587|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/aea4cf2dbfdfb1457ec0d9ff1860232ea02afbc9}}</ref> and more prestigious<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Stewart|first1=Charles|last2=Reynolds|first2=Mark|date=1990-01-01|title=Television Markets and U.S. Senate Elections|jstor=439894|journal=Legislative Studies Quarterly|volume=15|issue=4|pages=495–523|doi=10.2307/439894}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/12/us/in-fight-for-control-of-congress-tough-skirmishes-within-parties.html?pagewanted=all | title=In Fight for Control of Congress, Tough Skirmishes Within Parties | author=Richard L. Berke | date=September 12, 1999 | work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | url=http://repository.upenn.edu/curej/93/ | title=The Rapid Sequence of Events Forcing the Senate's Hand: A Reappraisal of the Seventeenth Amendment, 1890–1913 | journal=Curej – College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal | author=Joseph S. Friedman | date=March 30, 2009 }}</ref> body than the House of Representatives due to its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less [[Partisan (political)|partisan]] atmosphere.<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Agreeing to Disagree: Agenda Content and Senate Partisanship, 198 | journal=Legislative Studies Quarterly | volume=33 | issue=2 | pages=199–222 | doi=10.3162/036298008784311000 | date=June 16, 2006 | last1=Lee | first1=Frances E. }}</ref>

{{blockquote|sign=|source=Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787|In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people, the property of landed proprietors would be insecure. An agrarian law would soon take place. If these observations remain just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation. Landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. The Senate, therefore, ought to be this body; and to answer these purposes, they ought to have permanency and stability.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/yates.asp | title=Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787 | author=Robert Yates | access-date=2017-03-17}}</ref>}}

The disparity between the most and least populous states has grown since the [[Connecticut Compromise]], which granted each state two members of the Senate and at least one member of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], for a total minimum of three [[Electoral College (United States)|presidential electors]], regardless of population. In 1787, Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming, based on the [[1790 United States Census|1790]] and [[List of U.S. states and territories by population|2020 censuses]]. Before the adoption of the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Seventeenth Amendment]] in 1913, senators were elected by the individual [[State legislature (United States)|state legislatures]].<ref>Article I, Section 3: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; each Senator shall have one vote."</ref> Problems with repeated vacant seats due to the inability of a legislature to elect senators, intrastate political struggles, bribery and intimidation gradually led to a growing movement to amend the Constitution to allow for the direct election of senators.<ref name=direct/>

| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}

| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}

| {{party color cell|Independents}}

| {{party color cell|Vacant}}

[[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution]], sets three qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 30 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the United States for at least nine years; and (3) they must be inhabitants of the states they seek to represent at the time of their election. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives. In [[Federalist No. 62]], [[James Madison]] justified this arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character":

 

<blockquote>A senator must be thirty years of age at least; as a representative must be twenty-five. And the former must have been a citizen nine years; as seven years are required for the latter. The propriety of these distinctions is explained by the nature of the senatorial trust, which, requiring greater extent of information and stability of character, requires at the same time that the senator should have reached a period of life most likely to supply these advantages; and which, participating immediately in transactions with foreign nations, ought to be exercised by none who are not thoroughly weaned from the prepossessions and habits incident to foreign birth and education. The term of nine years appears to be a prudent mediocrity between a total exclusion of adopted citizens, whose merits and talents may claim a share in the public confidence, and an indiscriminate and hasty admission of them, which might create a channel for foreign influence on the national councils.<ref name="fed62">[https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/text-61-70 Federalist Papers, No. 62], Library of Congress.</ref></blockquote>

However, in five states, different methods are used. In [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], a runoff between the top two candidates occurs if the plurality winner in the general election does not also win a majority. In [[California]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and [[Louisiana]], a [[nonpartisan blanket primary]] (also known as a "jungle primary" or "top-two primary") is held in which all candidates participate in a single primary regardless of party affiliation and the top two candidates in terms of votes received at the primary election advance to the general election, where the winner is the candidate with the greater number of votes. In Louisiana, the [[Louisiana primary|blanket primary is considered the general election]] and candidates receiving a majority of the votes is declared the winner, skipping a run-off. In [[Maine]] and [[Alaska]], [[Instant-runoff voting|ranked-choice voting]] is used to nominate and elect candidates for federal offices, including the Senate.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brooks |first1=James |title=Election audit confirms win for Ballot Measure 2 and Alaska's new ranked-choice voting system |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/2020/12/14/election-audit-confirms-win-for-ballot-measure-2-and-alaskas-new-ranked-choice-voting-system/ |website=Anchorage Daily News |access-date=10 January 2021 |date=December 14, 2020}}</ref>

The Constitution requires that senators take an oath or [[Affirmation in law|affirmation]] to support the Constitution.<ref>[[Article Six of the United States Constitution|United States Constitution, Article VI]]</ref> Congress has prescribed the following oath for all federal officials (except the President), including senators: {{blockquote|I, ___ ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.<ref>See: {{USC|5|3331}}; see also: [https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Oath_Office.htm U.S. Senate Oath of Office]</ref>}}

Seniority is a factor in the selection of physical offices and in party caucuses' assignment of committees.<ref>{{cite web | last=Baker | first=Richard A. | title=Traditions of the United States Senate | url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/Traditions.pdf | work=Page 4}}</ref>

At one end of the chamber of the Senate is a [[dais]] from which the [[Presiding Officer of the United States Senate|presiding officer]] presides. The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials. One hundred desks are arranged in the chamber in a [[semicircle|semicircular]] pattern and are divided by a wide central aisle. The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] traditionally sits to the presiding officer's right, and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] traditionally sits to the presiding officer's left, regardless of which party has a majority of seats.<ref>{{cite web | title=Seating Arrangement | url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Desks/hdetail.cfm?id=11 | publisher=Senate Chamber Desks | access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref>

Each senator chooses a desk based on seniority within the party. By custom, the leader of each party sits in the front row along the center aisle. Forty-eight of the desks date back to 1819, when the Senate chamber was reconstructed after the original contents were destroyed in the 1812 [[Burning of Washington]]. Further desks of similar design were added as new states entered the Union.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Desks/overview.cfm |title=Senate Chamber Desks – Overview |website=United States Senate}}</ref> It is a tradition that each senator who uses a desk inscribes their name on the inside of the desk's drawer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/decorative-art/furniture/senate-chamber-desks/desk-occupants.htm |title=Senate Chamber Desks – Desk Occupants |website=United States Senate}}</ref>

Holds can be overcome, but require time-consuming procedures such as filing cloture. Holds are considered private communications between a senator and the leader, and are sometimes referred to as "secret holds". A senator may disclose the placement of a hold.

Within the United States, the Senate is sometimes referred to as "world's greatest deliberative body".<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,978823,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811051312/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,978823,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=August 11, 2009 | magazine=Time | title=The World's Greatest Deliberative Body | date=July 5, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/11/worlds_greatest_deliberative_b.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=World's greatest deliberative body watch}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/08/senate_reform |title=Senate reform: Lazing on a Senate afternoon |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=October 4, 2010}}</ref>

Recent criticisms of the Senate's operations object to what the critics argue is obsolescence as a result of partisan paralysis and a preponderance of arcane rules.<ref>{{cite web | author=Mark Murray | url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/02/4801404-the-inefficient-senate | title=The inefficient Senate | publisher=Firstread.msnbc.msn.com | date=August 2, 2010 | access-date=October 4, 2010 |url-status = dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810010230/http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/02/4801404-the-inefficient-senate | archive-date=August 10, 2010 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | last=Packer | first=George | url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/09/100809fa_fact_packer?currentPage=all#ixzz0vY0UxHu9 | title=Filibusters and arcane obstructions in the Senate | magazine=The New Yorker | date=January 7, 2009 | access-date=October 4, 2010}}</ref>

Bills may be introduced in either chamber of Congress. However, the Constitution's [[Origination Clause]] provides that "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#a1_sec7 | title=Constitution of the United States | publisher=Senate.gov | access-date=January 1, 2012}}</ref> As a result, the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the power to originate [[appropriation bill]]s, or bills authorizing the expenditure of federal funds.<ref name=Saturno>Saturno, James. "[https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31399.pdf The Origination Clause of the U.S. Constitution: Interpretation and Enforcement]", CRS Report for Congress (Mar-15-2011).</ref><ref name=Wirls>Wirls, Daniel and Wirls, Stephen. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ifzWY2ZrNBAC&pg=PA188 The Invention of the United States Senate]'', p. 188 (Taylor & Francis 2004).</ref><ref>[[Woodrow Wilson]] wrote that the Senate has extremely broad amendment authority with regard to appropriations bills, as distinguished from bills that levy taxes. See Wilson, Woodrow. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=eWBJfdV_jv8C&lpg=PP1&dq=editions%3AXH62sjkuTc4C&pg=PA155#v=onepage&q=originate&f=false Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics]'', pp. 155–156 (Transaction Publishers 2002).</ref><ref>According to the [[Library of Congress]], the Constitution provides the origination requirement for revenue bills, whereas tradition provides the origination requirement for appropriation bills. See Sullivan, John. "[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.bysec/congress.html How Our Laws Are Made] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016045756/http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.bysec/congress.html |date=October 16, 2015 }}", Library of Congress (accessed August 26, 2013).</ref> Historically, the Senate has disputed the interpretation advocated by the House. However, when the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice. The constitutional provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue bills is based on the practice of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], in which [[money bill]]s approved by Parliament have originated in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] per [[Constitutional conventions of the United Kingdom|constitutional convention]].<ref name=Sargent>Sargent, Noel. "[http://www.tifis.org/oclause/Sargent.pdf Bills for Raising Revenue Under the Federal and State Constitutions]", ''[[Minnesota Law Review]]'', Vol. 4, p. 330 (1919).</ref>

{{blockquote|The Senate's right to amend general appropriation bills has been allowed the widest possible scope. The upper house may add to them what it pleases; may go altogether outside of their original provisions and tack to them entirely new features of legislation, altering not only the amounts but even the objects of expenditure, and making out of the materials sent them by the popular chamber measures of an almost totally new character.<ref>Wilson ''Congressional Government'', Chapter III: "Revenue and Supply". Text common to all printings or "editions"; in ''Papers of Woodrow Wilson'' it is Vol.4 (1968), p.91; for unchanged text, see p. 13, ''ibid.''</ref>}}

The House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted (one resigned before the Senate could complete the trial).<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Impeachment_Role.htm#4 Complete list of impeachment trials.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202133604/http://senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Impeachment_Role.htm |date=December 2, 2010 }} United States Senate. Retrieved November 20, 2007</ref> Only three presidents have been impeached: [[Andrew Johnson]] in 1868, [[Bill Clinton]] in 1998, and [[Donald Trump]] in 2019 and 2021. The trials of Johnson, Clinton and both Trump trials ended in acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

* [http://www.wrhammons.com/us-senators-representatives.htm Bill Hammons' American Politics Guide&nbsp;– Members of Congress by Committee and State with Partisan Voting Index] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230085952/http://www.wrhammons.com/us-senators-representatives.htm |date=December 30, 2014 }}