In the United States House of Representatives the majority leader's presence and power often depends on the session. United States Senate, one of the two houses of the legislature (Congress) of the United States, established in 1789 under the Constitution. Recent Examples on the Web The president-elect met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, and announced more senior staff appointments for his administration. A majoroty floor leader is chosen by the majority party in caucus or conference. Each party elects a floor leader, who is known as the majority leader or minority leader. Majority Leader: The majority leader is second to the speaker in the party hierarchy and is not in the order of presidential succession. The majority leader helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line. Exercises What role does the president play in party politics? The Senate Majority Leader must also call the bills proposed and present them to the Senate, and must also be sure to keep his/her respective party informed and up to date on all legislative matters. Divided government—periods when the president is of a different party from the majority in Congress—can create challenges for presidents seeking to enact their policy agendas. Which of the following words shares a root with. Majority leader Harry Reid voted with the Republicans to preserve his right to call a revote days later. Majority Leader Definition the elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House or Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker and in the Senate is regarded as its most powerful member; helps the Speaker schedule proposed legislation for debate on the House floor 13, The week also provided some victories for the majority leader . View Leader Hoyer's Financial Disclosures. Their role is the Contrastingly, in upper houses, the titular Speaker is frequently a separately elected officer such as a lieutenant governor or vice president. 14, Being majority leader is a good position to be in. The rule establishes the time and extent of debate and The majority leader also has the power to file for the supermajority cloture vote … The Senate majority leader functions as the leader of the majority party on the Senate floor. whips Party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party. Therefore, if the Democratic Party is the majority party within the Senate, than the whip within the Democratic Party is the Majority Whip. : * *:At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass. In bicameral legislatures, the counterpart to the minority leader in the lower house is the Speaker, and the majority leader is hence only the second-most senior member of the majority caucus. [1] In the federal Congress, the role of the Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and the Majority Leader of the United States Senate differ slightly. majority rule definition: 1. the system of giving the largest group in a particular place or area the power to make decisions…. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. A majority government is one where members of the leading political party make up more than 50% of the House of Commons (155 seats or more). … They then have the chance to select their own deputies. The Senate majority leader's official duties include helping make committee appointments, helping establish a legislative timetable, and directing debate. The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes in behalf of the party's legislative positions. The rapport between Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is as distant as it is adversarial, Snowe says. 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'? In some sessions, the majority leader takes precedence over the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives as house leader and legislative party leader either by force (which usually occurs when the Speaker of the House is unpopular) or because the Speaker of the House voluntarily surrenders power to the majority leader. Delivered to your inbox! As House Majority Leader, Congressman Hoyer is the second-ranking member of the House Democratic Leadership. What made you want to look up majority leader? [2]Most notably, this is not a rule in the Senate.[3]. This is because the vice president is technically the Senate's presiding officer, a ceremonial position that calls chiefly for casting a vote in the event of a tie. noun. In November 2006, after Republicans lost control of the Senate, they elected McConnell as the minority leader. [28] In addition to a majority whip, there is a minority version to represent the minority party. In most sessions, the Speaker of the House takes precedence as house leader and party leader, with the majority leader being largely de facto irrelevant outside the fact they might be Speaker of the House one day. The Senate majority leader is often assisted by whips, who help … In the United States Senate, the majority leader is the chief spokesperson for the majority party in the legislature (if the House is held by an opposition party) and the Senate. This positions the majority leader to offer amendments or motions for consideration by the body. View high resolution photo of Congressman Steny Hoyer. Minority leader definition is - the leader of the minority party in a legislative body. The examples and perspective in this article, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, "How VP Harris Can Sideline Moscow Mitch", "Rules Of The Senate | U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Majority_leader&oldid=993692459, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with limited geographic scope from March 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 December 2020, at 23:57. There are four whips The term 'majority floor leader' refers to an important party member who holds the legislative position of 'majority floor leader.' The House of Representatives, with its large membership, has relied on Majority Leaders since the late-19th century to expedite legislative business and to keep their parties united. majority leader majority whip mandatory spending markup measure minority leader minority whip morning business motion to instruct motion to proceed to consider motion to table "must pass" bill nomination obligation off-budget [27] . Send us feedback. Majority leader definition is - a leader of the majority party in a legislative body (such as the U.S. Senate). In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body. On the other hand, the Minority Whip is the individual who acts as the whip within the minority party. During floor debates, the presiding officer recognizes the majority leader to speak first on an issue. Susanne Craig, Mike Mcintire And Russ Buettner, We Got You This Article on 'Gift' vs. 'Present'. How to use a word that (literally) drives some pe... Test your knowledge of the words of the year. “Majority leader.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/majority%20leader. In the states, the majority leader of a state legislative chamber usually performs a similar role to the Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives or Majority Leader of the United States Senate. Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'majority leader.' 24 George Mitchell was elected Democratic leader on November 29, 1988, effective January 3, 1989. [1] While the Vice-President of the United States is the president of the Senate and the President pro tempore is president of the Senate when the Vice President is missing or becomes president according to the Constitution of the United States, in reality, the vice president is an executive position that seldom presides or even enters the Senate unless if an evenly divided vote is expected while the President pro tempore has become a de facto ceremonial role deprived of any leadership ability, all of it given to the majority leader. 'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'? 2. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? The Role of the House Majority Leader: An Overview The majority leader in the contemporary House is second-in-command behind the Speaker of the majority party. The greater number or part; a number more than half of the total. Party leaders in general ensure the proper function of the Senate. Senate Majority Leader legal definition of Senate Majority ... Posted: (3 days ago) The majority leader, assisted by a lieutenant known as the majority whip, seeks to marshal the votes of the party's members on these matters. In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body. Wanted to be sure you saw this article in today’s Washington Post in which Majority Leader Steny Hoyer discusses Democratic unity and the “psychology of consensus.” In the interview, Leader Hoyer discussed how House Democrats have been unified in our votes and message in the 116 th Congress, and how the Caucus will continue to be unified in the 117 th Congress. The whip is not a government official, it’s a party official in Congress. The majority leader and minority leader are the highest-ranking members of their parties, and the whips are next highest ranking. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Even though the Senate Minority Leader does not command as much power as the Majority Leader, the role still proves to be an important one. This takes place at the same time as choosing the party leader. 12, The Senate majority leader talked about a balanced budget, smaller government, lower taxes, and a strong foreign policy. House Rules Committee is a powerful committee in the House of Representatives that creates a rule for each bill to be debated on the floor. The Majority Whip refers to the individual who is granted this position within the majority party. Learn a new word every day. 23 Robert Byrd resigned as majority leader to become chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations in the 101st Congress and was elected president pro tempore on January 3, 1989. The legislative leader elected by the party members holding the majority of seats in the House of Representatives. The majority leader acts as the spokesperson for the party's policy positions, schedules the daily calendar, and helps direct the party's overall legislative agenda. The tradition is that the Vice President gives the floor leaders priority recognition. ties 1. The majority leader's role as leader of the Senate is uncontested, especially in modern times, and in accordance with Senate rule, the Presiding Officer gives the Majority Leader priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate.The Majority Leader is not a position that exists anywhere in the Constitution. They do not need help from other parties to pass legislation into law because they have the majority of the votes needed. [citation needed] Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, did not seek re-election in the 2006 elections. Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. See the full definition for majority leader in the English Language Learners Dictionary. Learn more. S/he is the chief spokesperson of the majority party in the Senate and directs the legislative program and party strategy. Senate Majority Leader John Hottinger conceded defeat to Governor Tim Pawlenty this afternoon. Adverb (-) Superlative form of many. In the federal Congress, the role of the Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and the Majority Leader of the United States Senate differ slightly. The The Senate majority leader has somewhat less official power than the Speaker of the House. Consulting with the minority leader, the majority leader helps create special rules, called "unanimous consent agreements," which limit the amount of time for debate on specific bills. the party member who directs the activities of the minority party on the floor of a legislative body, as of the U.S. Congress. On top of that, the Senate Majority Leader must also balance his/her duties as a regular member of the Senate. If Democrats win the Senate, McConnell — if reelected — would no longer be the, But in 2009, with the support of Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who was then Senate, The dynamic helps explain why, days after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. was declared the winner of the election, even Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the, The first consisted of a picture of US Senate, Post the Definition of majority leader to Facebook, Share the Definition of majority leader on Twitter. In the three decades following the Civil War, when America’s current two-party system crystalized, the concept of the Majority Leader was far more informal than it is today. Typically, the majority leader functions as the Speaker’s chief lieutenant or “field commander” for day-to-day management of the floor. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020. The reason that the Majority Leader has powers to control floor votes is because of a tradition that dates back to 1937. 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