United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

s are conventionally ranked by the length of their tenure in the Senate. The senator in each

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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. Per traditions, the longest serving senator of the majority party is named

president pro tempore of the Senate A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

, the second-highest office in the Senate and the third in the line of succession to the presidency of the United States.

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 A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

. 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

. * Senators are given preferential treatment in choosing

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

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 In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as '' ex officio'' member ...

of a committee (called the vice-chairman in some

select committees Select or SELECT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde * ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine * ''MTV Select'', a television program * ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...

) 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 The United States order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order, or relative preeminence, for domestic and foreign ...

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.

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. For most of American history this was March 4 of odd-numbered years, but effective from 1935 the 20th Amendment moved this to January 3 of odd-numbered years.

Run-off elections and special elections

In the case of senators elected in a

run-off election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

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. A senator may be simultaneously elected to fill a term in a special election, and elected to the six-year term which begins on the upcoming January 3. Their seniority is that of someone chosen in a special election.

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: # Former senator # Former

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

# Former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

# Former member of the

Cabinet of the United States The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...

# Former state

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

# Population of state based on the most recent

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

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 Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Missouri, a seat he was first elected to in 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Secr ...

Jerry Moran Gerald Wesley Moran ( ; born May 29, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Kansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was chair of the National Republican Senator ...

, Rob Portman,

John Boozman John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repres ...

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representa ...

John Hoeven John Henry Hoeven III ( ; born March 13, 1957) is an American banker and politician serving as the senior U.S. senator from North Dakota, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Hoeven served as the 31st governor of Nort ...

, Marco Rubio,

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. S ...

, Rand Paul,

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...

and

Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...

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 The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., ...

convened. If two senators are tied on all criteria, the one whose last name comes first alphabetically is considered the senior senator. This happened with Senators

Jon Ossoff Thomas Jonathan Ossoff ( ; born February 16, 1987) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Ossoff was previously a documentary filmmaker and investigativ ...

and

Raphael Warnock Raphael Gamaliel Warnock ( ; born July 23, 1969) is an American Baptist pastor and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he assumed office on January 20, 2021. Since 2 ...

, both of Georgia, who were sworn in on January 20, 2021. Because they were both newly elected senators from the same state, with no prior government service, no other tie-breaking criteria could be used. The Senate's official records, as well as the Democratic Caucus, thus consider Ossoff, whose name comes first alphabetically, as the senior senator, despite him being 17 years younger than Warnock.

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.

Notes

References

{{United States Congress