Seniority in the United States Senate

United States senators are conventionally ranked by the length of their tenure in the Senate. The senator in each U.S. state with the longer time in office is known as the senior senator; the other is the junior senator. This convention has no official standing, though seniority confers several benefits, including preference in the choice of committee assignments and physical offices. When senators have been in office for the same length of time, a number of tiebreakers, including previous offices held, are used to determine seniority.

Benefits of seniority

The United States Constitution does not mandate differences in rights or power, but Senate rules give more power to senators with more seniority. Generally, senior senators will have more power, especially within their own caucuses. In addition, by custom, senior senators from the president's party control federal patronage appointments in their states.

There are several benefits, including the following:

Traditionally, the most senior member of the majority party is named president pro tempore of the Senate.
Senators are given preferential treatment in choosing committee assignments based on seniority. Seniority on a committee is based on length of time serving on that committee, which means a senator may rank above another in committee seniority but be more junior in the full Senate. Although the committee chairmanship is an elected position, it is traditionally given to the most senior senator of the majority party serving on the committee, and not already holding a conflicting position such as chairmanship of another committee. The ranking member of a committee (called the vice-chairman in some select committees) is elected in the same way.
Greater seniority enables a senator to choose a desk closer to the front of the Senate Chamber.
Senators with higher seniority may choose to move into better office space as those offices are vacated.
Seniority determines the ranking in the United States order of precedence although other factors, such as being a former president or first lady, can place an individual higher in the order of precedence.

Determining the beginning of a term

The beginning of an appointment does not necessarily coincide with the date the Senate convenes or when the new senator is sworn in.[1]

General elections

In the case of senators first elected in a general election for the upcoming Congress, their terms begin on the first day of the new Congress. Since 1935, that means January 3 of odd-numbered years.

Run-off elections and special elections

In the case of senators elected in a run-off election occurring after the commencement of a new term, or a special election, their seniority date will be the date they are sworn in and not the first day of that Congress.

Appointments

The seniority date for an appointed senator is usually the date of the appointment, although the actual term does not begin until they take the oath of office. An incoming senator who holds another office, including membership in the U.S. House of Representatives, must resign from that office before becoming a senator.

Determining length of seniority

A senator's seniority is primarily determined by length of continuous service; for example, a senator who has served for 12 years is more senior than one who has served for 10 years. Because several new senators usually join at the beginning of a new Congress, seniority is determined by prior federal or state government service and, if necessary, the amount of time spent in the tiebreaking office. These tiebreakers in order are:[1]

Former senator
Former Vice President of the United States
Former member of the United States House of Representatives
Former member of the Cabinet of the United States
Former state governor
Population of state based on the most recent census when the senator took office

When more than one senator had such office, its length of time is used to break the tie. For instance, Roy Blunt, Jerry Moran, Rob Portman, John Boozman, Pat Toomey, John Hoeven, Marco Rubio, Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, Richard Blumenthal and Mike Lee took office on January 3, 2011. The first five senators mentioned had served in the House of Representatives: Blunt and Moran had served for 14 years; Portman for 12; Boozman for nine; Toomey for six. Blunt outranks Moran because Missouri was ranked above Kansas by population in the 2000 census. As a former governor, Hoeven is ranked immediately after the former House members. The rest are ranked by population as of the 2000 census. These ranked from 40th to 50th in seniority when the 117th United States Congress convened.

Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both of Georgia, were sworn in on January 20, 2021. Because they were both newly elected senators with no prior government service, they were tied on all criteria. The Senate's official records list Ossoff as the senior senator.[1] The Democratic caucus considers Ossoff the senior senator because his name comes first alphabetically.[2][3]

Current seniority list

Only relevant factors are listed below. For senators whose seniority is based on their state's respective population, the state population ranking is given as determined by the relevant United States Census current at the time that they began service.[4][5][6]

Republican (50) Democratic (48) Independent (2)

Current rank	Historical rank[lower-alpha 1][1]	Senator	Party		State	Seniority date	Other factors	Committee and leadership positions
1	1692	Patrick Leahy		Democratic	Vermont	January 3, 1975		President pro tempore Chair: Appropriations
2	1743	Chuck Grassley		Republican	Iowa	January 3, 1981		President pro tempore emeritus Ranking Member: Judiciary
3	1766	Mitch McConnell		Republican	Kentucky	January 3, 1985		Senate Minority Leader
4	1775	Richard Shelby		Republican[lower-alpha 2]	Alabama	January 3, 1987		Ranking Member: Appropriations
5	1801	Dianne Feinstein		Democratic	California	November 4, 1992		Chair: Narcotics Caucus
6	1810	Patty Murray		Democratic	Washington	January 3, 1993		Chair: HELP
7	1816	Jim Inhofe		Republican	Oklahoma	November 16, 1994		Ranking Member: Armed Services
8	1827	Ron Wyden		Democratic	Oregon	February 6, 1996		Chair: Finance
9	1831	Dick Durbin		Democratic	Illinois	January 3, 1997	Former House member (14 years)	Senate Majority Whip Chair: Judiciary
10	1835	Jack Reed		Democratic	Rhode Island		Former House member (6 years)	Chair: Armed Services
11	1842	Susan Collins		Republican	Maine
12	1844	Chuck Schumer		Democratic	New York	January 3, 1999	Former House member (18 years)	Senate Majority Leader
13	1846	Mike Crapo		Republican	Idaho	January 3, 1999	Former House member (6 years)	Ranking Member: Finance
14	1855	Tom Carper		Democratic	Delaware	January 3, 2001	Former House member (10 years)	Chair: Environment
15	1856	Debbie Stabenow		Democratic	Michigan		Former House member (4 years)	Chair: Agriculture
16	1859	Maria Cantwell[lower-alpha 3]		Democratic	Washington		Former House member (2 years)	Chair: Commerce
17	1867	John Cornyn		Republican	Texas	December 2, 2002		Ranking Member: Narcotics Caucus
18	1868	Lisa Murkowski		Republican	Alaska	December 20, 2002[lower-alpha 4]		Ranking Member: Indian Affairs
19	1870	Lindsey Graham		Republican	South Carolina	January 3, 2003		Ranking Member: Budget
20	1876	Richard Burr		Republican	North Carolina	January 3, 2005	Former House member (10 years)	Ranking Member: HELP
21	1879	John Thune		Republican	South Dakota	January 3, 2005	Former House member (6 years)	Senate Minority Whip
22	1885	Bob Menendez		Democratic	New Jersey	January 17, 2006[lower-alpha 4]		Chair: Foreign Relations
23	1886	Ben Cardin		Democratic	Maryland	January 3, 2007	Former House member (20 years)	Chair: Small Business
24	1887	Bernie Sanders		Independent	Vermont		Former House member (16 years)	Chair: Budget
25	1888	Sherrod Brown		Democratic	Ohio		Former House member (14 years)	Chair: Banking
26	1890	Bob Casey Jr.		Democratic	Pennsylvania		Pennsylvania 6th in population (2000)	Chair: Aging
27	1893	Amy Klobuchar		Democratic	Minnesota		Minnesota 21st in population (2000)	Chair: Rules
28	1894	Sheldon Whitehouse		Democratic	Rhode Island		Rhode Island 43rd in population (2000)
29	1895	Jon Tester		Democratic	Montana		Montana 44th in population (2000)	Chair: Veterans' Affairs
30	1896	John Barrasso		Republican	Wyoming	June 22, 2007[lower-alpha 4]		Ranking Member: Energy
31	1897	Roger Wicker		Republican	Mississippi	December 31, 2007[lower-alpha 4]		Ranking Member: Commerce
32	1901	Jeanne Shaheen		Democratic	New Hampshire	January 3, 2009	Former governor (6 years)
33	1902	Mark Warner		Democratic	Virginia		Former governor (4 years)	Chair: Intelligence
34	1903	Jim Risch		Republican	Idaho		Former governor (7 months)	Ranking Member: Foreign Relations
35	1905	Jeff Merkley		Democratic	Oregon
36	1909	Michael Bennet		Democratic	Colorado	January 21, 2009[lower-alpha 4]
37	1910	Kirsten Gillibrand		Democratic	New York	January 26, 2009[lower-alpha 4]
38	1916	Joe Manchin		Democratic	West Virginia	November 15, 2010	Former governor	Chair: Energy
39	1917	Chris Coons		Democratic	Delaware	November 15, 2010		Chair: Ethics
40	1919	Roy Blunt		Republican	Missouri	January 3, 2011	Former House member (14 years); Missouri 17th in population (2000)	Ranking Member: Rules
41	1920	Jerry Moran		Republican	Kansas		Former House member (14 years); Kansas 33rd in population (2000)	Ranking Member: Veterans' Affairs
42	1921	Rob Portman		Republican	Ohio		Former House member (12 years)	Ranking Member: Homeland Security
43	1922	John Boozman		Republican	Arkansas		Former House member (9 years)	Ranking Member: Agriculture
44	1923	Pat Toomey		Republican	Pennsylvania		Former House member (6 years)	Ranking Member: Banking
45	1924	John Hoeven		Republican	North Dakota		Former governor
46	1925	Marco Rubio		Republican	Florida		Florida 4th in population (2000)	Vice Chair: Intelligence
47	1926	Ron Johnson		Republican	Wisconsin		Wisconsin 20th in population (2000)
48	1927	Rand Paul		Republican	Kentucky		Kentucky 25th in population (2000)	Ranking Member: Small Business
49	1928	Richard Blumenthal		Democratic	Connecticut		Connecticut 29th in population (2000)
50	1929	Mike Lee		Republican	Utah		Utah 34th in population (2000)
51	1932	Brian Schatz		Democratic	Hawaii	December 26, 2012[lower-alpha 4]		Chair: Indian Affairs
52	1933	Tim Scott		Republican	South Carolina	January 2, 2013[lower-alpha 4]		Ranking Member: Aging
53	1934	Tammy Baldwin		Democratic	Wisconsin	January 3, 2013	Former House member (14 years)
54	1937	Chris Murphy		Democratic	Connecticut		Former House member (6 years); Connecticut 29th in population (2010)
55	1938	Mazie Hirono		Democratic	Hawaii		Former House member (6 years); Hawaii 40th in population (2010)
56	1939	Martin Heinrich		Democratic	New Mexico		Former House member (4 years)
57	1940	Angus King		Independent	Maine		Former governor (8 years)
58	1941	Tim Kaine		Democratic	Virginia		Former governor (4 years)
59	1942	Ted Cruz		Republican	Texas		Texas 2nd in population (2010)
60	1943	Elizabeth Warren		Democratic	Massachusetts		Massachusetts 14th in population (2010)
61	1944	Deb Fischer		Republican	Nebraska		Nebraska 38th in population (2010)
62	1948	Ed Markey		Democratic	Massachusetts	July 16, 2013
63	1949	Cory Booker		Democratic	New Jersey	October 31, 2013
64	1951	Shelley Moore Capito		Republican	West Virginia	January 3, 2015	Former House member (14 years)	Ranking Member: Environment
65	1952	Gary Peters		Democratic	Michigan		Former House member (6 years); Michigan 8th in population (2010)	Chair: Homeland Security
66	1953	Bill Cassidy		Republican	Louisiana		Former House member (6 years); Louisiana 25th in population (2010)
67	1955	James Lankford		Republican	Oklahoma		Former House member (4 years)	Ranking Member: Ethics
68	1956	Tom Cotton		Republican	Arkansas		Former House member (2 years); Arkansas 32nd in population (2010)
69	1957	Steve Daines		Republican	Montana		Former House member (2 years); Montana 44th in population (2010)
70	1958	Mike Rounds		Republican	South Dakota		Former governor
71	1960	Thom Tillis		Republican	North Carolina		North Carolina 10th in population (2010)
72	1961	Joni Ernst		Republican	Iowa		Iowa 30th in population (2010)
73	1962	Ben Sasse		Republican	Nebraska		Nebraska 38th in population (2010)
74	1963	Dan Sullivan		Republican	Alaska		Alaska 47th in population (2010)
75	1964	Chris Van Hollen		Democratic	Maryland	January 3, 2017	Former House member (14 years)
76	1965	Todd Young		Republican	Indiana		Former House member (6 years)
77	1966	Tammy Duckworth		Democratic	Illinois		Former House member (4 years)
78	1967	Maggie Hassan		Democratic	New Hampshire		Former governor
79	1969	John Neely Kennedy		Republican	Louisiana		Louisiana 25th in population (2010)
80	1970	Catherine Cortez Masto		Democratic	Nevada		Nevada 35th in population (2010)
81	1972	Tina Smith		Democratic	Minnesota	January 3, 2018[lower-alpha 4]
82	1974	Cindy Hyde-Smith		Republican	Mississippi	April 2, 2018[lower-alpha 4]
83	1975	Marsha Blackburn		Republican	Tennessee	January 3, 2019	Former House member (16 years)
84	1976	Kyrsten Sinema		Democratic	Arizona		Former House member (6 years); Arizona 16th in population (2010)
85	1977	Kevin Cramer		Republican	North Dakota		Former House member (6 years); North Dakota 48th in population (2010)
86	1979	Jacky Rosen		Democratic	Nevada		Former House member (2 years)
87	1980	Mitt Romney		Republican	Utah		Former governor
88	1981	Mike Braun		Republican	Indiana		Indiana 15th in population (2010)
89	1982	Josh Hawley		Republican	Missouri		Missouri 18th in population (2010)
90	1983	Rick Scott		Republican	Florida	January 8, 2019
91	1985	Mark Kelly		Democratic	Arizona	December 2, 2020
92	1986	Ben Ray Luján		Democratic	New Mexico	January 3, 2021	Former House member (12 years)
93	1987	Cynthia Lummis		Republican	Wyoming		Former House member (8 years)
94	1988	Roger Marshall		Republican	Kansas		Former House member (4 years)
95	1989	John Hickenlooper		Democratic	Colorado		Former governor
96	1990	Bill Hagerty		Republican	Tennessee		Tennessee 17th in population (2010)
97	1991	Tommy Tuberville		Republican	Alabama		Alabama 23rd in population (2010)
98	1992	Alex Padilla		Democratic	California	January 20, 2021	California 1st in population (2010)
99	1993	Jon Ossoff[lower-alpha 5]		Democratic	Georgia		Georgia 9th in population (2010)
100	1994	Raphael Warnock		Democratic	Georgia		Georgia 9th in population (2010)
Rank	Historical rank[lower-alpha 1][1]	Senator	Party		State	Seniority date	Other factors	Committee and leadership positions

Notes

"Historical rank" refers to the senator's seniority over the entire history of the Senate since 1789, i.e. their position in the chronological ordering of all senators. This is an absolute number that does not change from one Congress to the next.
Richard Shelby's 1994 party change did not break his service or seniority.
Maria Cantwell (#16) is the Senate's most senior junior senator.
The seniority date for an appointed senator is the date of the appointment, not necessarily the date of taking the oath of office. See Determining the beginning of a term, above.
Jon Ossoff (#99) is the Senate's most junior senior senator.

References

"Senators of the United States 1789–present, A chronological list of senators since the First Congress in 1789" (PDF). Senate Historical Office. January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
Bluestein, Greg. "'A new era': Ossoff, Warnock sworn into office, giving Democrats control of U.S. Senate". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
Wooten, Nick (January 20, 2021). "Will Ossoff or Warnock be Georgia's senior senator? The answer is a simple one". Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
"1991 U.S Census Report" (PDF).
American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. "2000 Census State Population Rankings". Factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
"Resident Population Data (Text Version) – 2010 Census, by state and census region".

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[rank-7] "Historical rank" refers to the senator's seniority over the entire history of the Senate since 1789, i.e. their position in the chronological ordering of all senators. This is an absolute number that does not change from one Congress to the next.

[8] Richard Shelby's 1994 party change did not break his service or seniority.

[9] Maria Cantwell (#16) is the Senate's most senior junior senator.

[Appointment-10] The seniority date for an appointed senator is the date of the appointment, not necessarily the date of taking the oath of office. See Determining the beginning of a term, above.

[11] Jon Ossoff (#99) is the Senate's most junior senior senator.

[chronolist-1] "Senators of the United States 1789–present, A chronological list of senators since the First Congress in 1789" (PDF). Senate Historical Office. January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.

[2] Bluestein, Greg. "'A new era': Ossoff, Warnock sworn into office, giving Democrats control of U.S. Senate". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

[3] Wooten, Nick (January 20, 2021). "Will Ossoff or Warnock be Georgia's senior senator? The answer is a simple one". Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

[4] "1991 U.S Census Report" (PDF).

[5] American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. "2000 Census State Population Rankings". Factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2010.

[6] "Resident Population Data (Text Version) – 2010 Census, by state and census region".