United States Senate

United States Senate
United States Senate
119th United States Congress
	Seal of the U.S. Senate
	Flag of the U.S. Senate
Type
Type	Upper house of the United States Congress
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 3, 2025
Leadership
President of the Senate	JD Vance (R) ; since January 20, 2025
President pro tempore	Chuck Grassley (R) ; since January 3, 2025
Majority Leader	John Thune (R) ; since January 3, 2025
Minority Leader	Chuck Schumer (D) ; since January 3, 2025
Majority Whip	John Barrasso (R) ; since January 3, 2025
Minority Whip	Dick Durbin (D) ; since January 3, 2025
Structure
Seats	100; 51 (or 50 plus the president of the Senate) for a majority
Political groups	Majority (53) Republican (53); Minority (47) Democratic (45); Independent (2);
Length of term	6 years
Elections
Voting system	Plurality voting in 46 states; Varies in 4 states GA and MS: Two-round system ; AK (general elections only) and ME: Instant-runoff ;
Last election	November 5, 2024 (34 seats)
Next election	November 3, 2026 (34 seats)
Meeting place
	Senate Chamber; United States Capitol; Washington, D.C.; United States
Website
	senate.gov
Constitution
	United States Constitution

The United States Senate is the upper house of the United States Congress, which is a group of elected people who decide the laws of the country. Every U.S. state elects two people to represent them in the U.S. Senate. These people are called senators. Since there are 50 states, there are 100 senators. Senators serve six years at a time, and one-third of them are picked every two years. Originally the legislature of each state decided who their senators would be. After 1913 and a Constitutional amendment, the people of the state chose their senators by vote. The Vice President of the United States is in charge of the Senate, but does little except when there is a tie vote or a special event.

To be a senator, a person has to be 30 years old or older, and has to be a citizen of the United States for 9 years or more. They must also live in the state they represent at election time.

Functions

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress. The Senate, along with the United States House of Representatives, votes on which laws the United States should have. In most cases, both of these groups have to agree on the suggested law and the President has to sign it before it becomes a law.

The Senate is the chamber of Congress in which every state has the same number of votes (two). That is different from the House of Representatives in which states with more people have more votes than states with fewer people. This was decided at the Constitutional Convention, because small states like Delaware did not want the larger states to be able to decide everything. Also, only part of the Senate runs for election during elections. Every two years, 33 (for two elections) and then 34 (for one election) senators are elected. For each state, this means that after two elections to the Senate, during one election no one will be elected to the Senate.

Also, like the House, the Senate can override the president's veto with a ²⁄₃ (67 senator) vote. But unlike the house, some bills require a ³⁄₅ (60 senator) vote (it used to be ²⁄₃ of the vote) to overcome a filibuster. A filibuster happens when senators banding together, they can stop bills from going through the senate.

Confirmation powers

The Senate is also in charge of agreeing to treaties with other countries. The Senate has the sole responsibility for confirming presidential appointments. These include federal judges, foreign ambassadors and Cabinet members. If the Senate and President do not agree, the President has to pick someone else the Senate will agree to.

Political parties

Committees of the Senate and other important jobs in the Senate are assigned by its majority political party. As of 2025, the Senate is made up of 53 Republicans, which make them the Senate majority. The Senate minority is made up of 45 Democrats, with 2 independents who side with them.

Notes

↑ The independent senators, Angus King of Maine, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, caucus with the Democrats.
↑ Alaska (for its primary elections only), California, and Washington additionally utilize a nonpartisan blanket primary, and Louisiana uses a Louisiana primary, for their respective primary elections.

References

↑ "Manchin changes party registration to independent, fueling speculation". The Washington Post. May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024. Manchin joins three other members of the Senate who identify as independents: Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), Angus King (Maine) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who each caucus with Democrats. A Manchin spokesperson said he will continue to caucus with Democrats.
↑ "Members of Congress". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
1 2 3 The United States Senate for Know-It-Alls (Minneapolis: Filiquarian Publishing, LLC, 2008), p. 3
1 2 Umar Farooq (6 August 2013). "Powers and Functions of the American Senate". Study Lecture Notes. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
↑ IBP, US Senate Guide Volume 1 (Washington, DC: International Business Publications, 2015), p. 132
1 2 "About the U.S. Senate". About.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

Other websites

Media related to United States Senate at Wikimedia Commons

The United States Senate Official Website
List of Senators who died in office, via PoliticalGraveyard.com
Chart of all U.S. Senate seat-holders, by state, 1978–present, via Texas Tech University
A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825 Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, via Tufts University
Bill Hammons' American Politics Guide – Members of Congress by Committee and State with Partisan Voting Index Archived 2014-12-30 at the Wayback Machine
Works by or about United States Senate at Internet Archive
First U.S. Senate session aired by C-SPAN via C-SPAN
Senate Manual via govinfo.gov (U.S. Government Publishing Office)
United States Senate Calendars and Schedules
Information about U.S. Bills and Resolutions Archived 2020-01-02 at the Wayback Machine

38°53′26″N 77°0′32″W / 38.89056°N 77.00889°W / 38.89056; -77.00889

This short article about the United States can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[King-2] The independent senators, Angus King of Maine, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, caucus with the Democrats.

[3] Alaska (for its primary elections only), California, and Washington additionally utilize a nonpartisan blanket primary, and Louisiana uses a Louisiana primary, for their respective primary elections.

[1] "Manchin changes party registration to independent, fueling speculation". The Washington Post. May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024. Manchin joins three other members of the Senate who identify as independents: Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), Angus King (Maine) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who each caucus with Democrats. A Manchin spokesperson said he will continue to caucus with Democrats.

[4] "Members of Congress". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved 23 February 2016.

[Filiq3-5] 1 2 3 The United States Senate for Know-It-Alls (Minneapolis: Filiquarian Publishing, LLC, 2008), p. 3

[FarooqSLN-6] 1 2 Umar Farooq (6 August 2013). "Powers and Functions of the American Senate". Study Lecture Notes. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

[7] IBP, US Senate Guide Volume 1 (Washington, DC: International Business Publications, 2015), p. 132

[About-8] 1 2 "About the U.S. Senate". About.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

v t e United States Congress (House of Representatives, Senate — 116th Congress)
Members	Congress: Current, Freshmen, Longest serving, Expelled \| House: Current by seniority, Former members, Oldest living \| Senate: Current by age, Current by seniority; Former, Former still living, Age/seniority, Expelled/censured, Classes
Leaders	House: Speaker (list), Party leaders, Party whips, Dem. caucus, Rep. conference, Dean \| Senate: President pro tempore (list), Party leaders, Assistant party leaders, Dem. Caucus (Chair, Secretary, Policy comm. chair), Rep. Conference (Chair, Vice-Chair, Policy comm. chair), Dean
Groups	African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Caucuses, Committees, Hispanic Americans, Senate Women, House Women
Agencies, Employees & Offices	Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Guide Service (board), Capitol Police (board), Chiefs of staff, GAO, Government Printing Office, Law Revision Counsel, Librarian of Congress, Poet laureate \| House: Chaplain, Chief Administrative Officer, Clerk, Doorkeeper, Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations, Historian, Page (board), Parliamentarian, Postmaster, Reading clerk, Recording Studio, Sergeant at Arms \| Senate: Chaplain, Curator, Historian, Librarian, Page, Parliamentarian, Secretary, Sergeant at Arms
Politics & Procedure	Act of Congress (list), Caucuses, Committees, Hearings, Joint session, Oversight, Party divisions, Rider, Sponsorship, Saxbe fix \| House: Committees, History, Procedures, Mace of the House \| Senate: Committees, Filibuster, History, Jefferson's Manual, Traditions, VPs' tie-breaking votes
Buildings	Botanic Garden, Capitol, Capitol Complex, Office buildings (House: Cannon, Ford, Longworth, Rayburn, O'Neill (demolished), Senate: Dirksen, Hart, Russell)
Research	Biographical directory, Congressional Quarterly, Congressional Record, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress (Law Library, Copyright Office), The Hill, Roll Call, THOMAS
Misc	List of lists, Congressional districts (by area), Power of enforcement, Scandals
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