The floor leaders and whips of each party are elected by a majority vote of all the senators of their party assembled in a conference or, as it sometimes is called, a caucus. The practice has been to choose the leader for a two-year term at the beginning of each Congress. The majority and minority leaders are the elected spokespersons on the Senate floor for their respective political parties.
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Floor Leadership
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The positions of the majority and the minority leader, as we know them today, are of recent development in the history of the Senate, although individual Senators since 1789 assumed leading roles in determining the Senate schedule.
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Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: History and List
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Essays on Floor Leadership
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Senators Require a Whip, May 28, 1913
Democratic Leadership Deadlock, January 15, 1920
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Essays on Majority and Minority Leaders
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Henry Cabot Lodge: Senate Leader, Presidential Foe
Charles Curtis: "God-Sent into Politics"
Joseph T. Robinson, the "Fightingest" Man in the U.S. Senate
Death of a Majority Leader, July 14, 1937
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Essays on Party Conferences and Caucuses
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Members of each major party convene in private meetings known as party conferences (or party caucuses) to elect floor leaders, make committee assignments, and set legislative agendas.
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Senate Democratic Caucus Organized, March 6, 1903
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Portraits of Leaders
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The Leader's Lecture Series provides outstanding former Senate leaders and other distinguished Americans the chance to share their insights about the Senate's recent history and long-term practices.
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House Leadership
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The Speaker of the House is not only the presiding officer of the House, but also serves as leader of the majority party conference. Next in the chain of command of the majority party are the majority leader and the majority whip. The minority leadership in the House consists of the House minority leader and the minority whip.
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Related Items
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Interested in related materials? Take a look at these Virtual Reference Desk subjects for more information.
