The Senate

Contrast the Senate’s leadership and role in the lawmaking process with

that of the House of Representatives.

Content Vocabulary

• President pro tempore (for the time being)- leader of the Senate when the Vice President is absent

• Filibuster- method used by senators to keep talking in order to defeat a bill

• Cloture- used to stop a filibuster; senators may only speak for 1 hour about a bill

The Senate Looks Different than the House

• Much smaller (100 desks)• Rules are more flexible (less rules)• Unlimited time to debate legislation• Less committees

Senate Leaders• No Speaker• Vice President is the leader of the Senate• VP cannot take part in debates, nor can they

vote unless to break a tie • President pro tempore (for the time being) is

in charge when the VP is not present • President pro tempore is from the majority

party and is elected by the Senate.

Vice President- Joe BidenPresident pro tempore- Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Majority and Minority Leaders

• Majority leader- elected by their party; help steer their party’s bills through the Senate

• Minority leader- elected by their party; develops criticisms of the majority party’s bills

• Majority and minority whips assist the leader

Majority Leader- Harry Reid (D-Nevada)

Minority Leader- Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)

The Filibuster• Because the Senate has unlimited time for debate,

a filibuster is sometimes used to defeat a bill• A senator will continue to talk until interest in the

bill is lost • If 3/5ths of the Senate votes for a cloture,

senators may only speak for 1 hour; this prevents filibusters.

• Longest Filibuster- Strom Thurman (1957) 24 hours and 18 minutes