Congressional Leadership
EPISD U.S. Government Team
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Printed: November 2, 2015
AUTHOR
EPISD U.S. Government Team
www.ck12.org
C HAPTER
Chapter 1. Congressional Leadership
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Congressional Leadership
Leadership in Congress: It’s a Party Matter
FIGURE 1.1
Republicans and Democrats in Congress continually battle each other on
party lines, even though many claim that the parties are essentially the
same.
TEKS
2 History. The student understands the roles played by individuals, political parties, interest groups, and the media
in the U.S. political system, past and present. The student is expected to:
(A) given examples of the processes used by individuals, political parties, interest groups, or the media to
affect public policy;
9 Government. The student understands the concept of federalism. The student is expected to
(A) analyze the structure and functions of the legislative branch of government including the bicameral
structure of Congress, the role of committees and the procedure for enacting laws.
LESSON OBJECTIVE
After completing this lesson, you will:
• Investigate the growing impact of partisanship in the legislative process.
• Describe the major roles played by political parties in the Congressional leadership process.
• Evaluate the organizational structure of Congressional leadership in the House of Representatives and the
Senate
• Explain how party leadership in the House and Senate use “whips” to achieve unified party votes on important
pieces of legislation.
Partisanship — or fierce loyalty to one’s political party — generally is not admired in the United States today. Many
people today call themselves independent voters, and bickering between the parties in Congress is often condemned.
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But parties are very important in both the House of Representatives and the Senate today. Even though political
parties do not play as big a role in elections as they once did, they still provide the basic organization of leadership
in Congress.
Video: Partisanship in Congress
MEDIA
Click image to the left or use the URL below.
URL: http://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/153867
After each legislative election the party that wins the most representatives is designated the " majority" in each
house, and the other party is called the " minority." These designations are significant because the majority party
holds the most significant leadership positions, such as Speaker of the House. Usually, the same party holds both
houses, but occasionally they are split. For example, from 1983-1985, the House majority was Democratic and the
Senate majority was Republican.
FIGURE 1.2
Coalition groups like the Blue Dog
Democrats are trying to bridge the party
gap in Congress.
At the beginning of each new Congress, the members of each party gather in special meetings to talk party policy and
themes and to select their leaders by majority vote. Democrats call their meeting a " caucus," and the Republicans
call theirs a " conference." Next, when each house convenes in its first session, Congressional leaders, such as the
Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader in the Senate, are selected. And even though the whole house votes
for its leaders, the majority party makes the real selections ahead of time behind the scenes when they select party
leaders.
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Chapter 1. Congressional Leadership
Video: Congressional Leadership Explained
MEDIA
Click image to the left or use the URL below.
URL: http://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/160699
House Leadership
Because the House has 435 members to the Senate’s 100, House leaders tend to have more power over their
membership than do Senate leaders. With 435 people trying to make decisions together, their sheer numbers require
leaders to coordinate the lawmaking process. Political parties choose all top leadersip positions.
Speaker of the House. The Speaker is the most powerful member of the House of Representatives, and arguably,
the most influential single legislator in both houses. Always a member of the majority party, the speaker’s influence
depends partly on strength of personality and respect of colleagues, but also on several important powers.
FIGURE 1.3
Caption:
Speaker of the House John
Boehner must address the media almost
daily on issues discussed in the House of
Representatives.
The Speaker:
•
•
•
•
•
presides over proceedings on the House floor
influences which bills go to which committees
influences committee assignments for new members
appoints the party’s other leaders
rules on questions of parliamentary procedure
The majority leader usually the second ranking member of the majority party, is the party leader on the floor. Often
hand-picked by the Speaker, the majority leader helps plan the party’s legislative program. Many Speakers came to
their positions by serving as majority leader first.
The minority leader heads and organizes the minority party. Because the party has less voting power than the
majority party has, this person’s influence is usually limited. If the minority party succeeds in the next congressional
election, the minority leader could well be the next Speaker.
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Senate Leadership
FIGURE 1.4
Elbridge Gerry was an early architect of
partisanship.
His election to the Mas-
sachusetts Senate was aided by redrawing district boundaries to include a majority of his own party members.
This
practice is called gerrymandering.
The Senate leadership is characterized by its highest positions actually having very little power. By Constitutional
provision, the president of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States, who only can cast a vote in case of
a tie. The Vice President rarely sits with the Senate, so a President pro tempore is selected to take his place. This
role too is largely ceremonial, so the chair is often passed to a junior Senator.
The floor leaders are the real leaders in the Senate, although they generally have less power than do leaders in the
House. The majority leader is usually the most influential person in the Senate. He has the privilege of beginning
debates on legislation, and he usually influences choices for committee assignments. He shares his power with the
minority leader, who leads the other party. Usually the two leaders cooperate to some extent, but the leader of the
majority party always has the upper hand.
Congressional Whips
The term “whip” is thought to have a variety of origins and meanings in the history of Congress. Some argue the
term refers to the role whips play in coercing or threatening party members in order to force them to go along with
the party vote. Others refer to this term in the context of “whipping up support” for a particular bill within the party.
However, the principle role of a Congressional whip (whether in the House or the Senate) is to count votes and keep
track of where each house or senate member is on a particular bill or issue that is supported by the party.
Not every vote gets whipped. In fact, whips tend to concentrate only on bills that are important to the party leadership
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Chapter 1. Congressional Leadership
FIGURE 1.5
Congressional Whips are the “enforcers”
of their party with the responsibility of
making sure party members vote as a
block on important pieces of legislation.
and where the vote is expected to be close. In close votes on important issues, whipping is necessary to get a more
accurate head count.
There are three stages of whipping. The first stage is to take a simple head count. That’s when the whip’s staffers
calls those of every other party member and asks how they’re going to vote. The information is then entered into a
spreadsheet or onto a paper list of members called a voting sheet.
If the vote is close, the whip moves to the second stage, where members of the "whip team” (there are nine deputy
whips in the House and 11 in the Senate) approach those members of their party who are “on the fence” and listen to
their concerns. If a concern can be easily addressed, it gets fixed. If not, the deputy whip (or a committee chairman,
or the party leader herself) can offer to help an ambivalent lawmaker on another bill in exchange for his or her vote
on the bill at hand. This “give and take” process is called log rolling.
The third and final whip usually occurs the day before a vote, when whip team members approach their designated
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members—in the Senate, for example, each team member is assigned two or three senators they know well—and
report the final tally.
Whipping can be a delicate business. Whip team members want to get an honest sense of how their colleagues will
vote, but they don’t want to be ham-handed about it. That means approaching senators in an informal way—either
on the Senate floor or in their offices—and gauging their support level. Whipping a "no" vote is especially difficult,
since senators don’t like to admit that they’re not going to vote with the leadership. But honesty is expected. If a
senator says he’s going to vote a particular way and then doesn’t, his colleagues tend to remember. Timing matters,
too. Whip a vote too early, and members may change their mind before the actual vote. (That leaves time for their
constituents to get riled up.) Whip too late, and there may not be time to change their mind.
Whips also serve as liaisons between the members and the party leadership. That means helping mold legislation in
such a way that members will support it, as well as persuading members to vote a particular way once the legislation
is complete. The whip must also make sure members actually show up to the floor. He sends out a daily schedule
of votes and information on how long a given legislative session will last. He may also stand by the chamber door,
reminding members how the party wants them to vote by giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
Party whips were first used in the British House of Commons in the 1700s, named after the "whipper in"—the person
on a foxhunt responsible for keeping the dogs focused. They weren’t used in the United States until 1897, when
the Republican speaker of the House appointed the first whip. Democrats followed suit in 1901. Senate Democrats
named their first official whip in 1913, and Senate Republicans in 1915.
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Chapter 1. Congressional Leadership
KEY TAKEAWAYS
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• Partisanship (allegiance to a political party) plays an important role in the legislative process.
• While not prescribed or included in the Constitutional structure of the legislative branch, political parties have
played a major role in party leadership and member behavior since the origins of Congress.
• Leadership roles in the House of Representatives include the Speaker of the House with informal roles
including the majority leader, minority leader, majority whips and minority whips.
• Leadership roles in the Senate include the Vice President, who serves as President of the Senate, the President
Pro Tempore of the Senate who presides in the absence of the Vice President and informal leadership including
majority and minority leaders along with majority and minority whips.
• Whips have played an important role in the House and the Senate since the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their
job is to count votes on important pieces of legislation and to ensure that members of the party vote as a unified
block on important pieces of legislation or policy.
FIGURE 1.6
Study/Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe partisanship is a good thing or a bad thing for Congress? Use internet and textbook resources
to justify your answer.
2. What was the Constitutional role of parties in Congressional leadership?
3. What roles do parties play in the legislative process today?
4. What are the formal and informal leadership roles off the House and the Senate?
5. Write a job description for a whip in the House and/or the Senate.
VOCABULARY
Partisanship
Fierce loyalty to one’s political party
Congressional Whips
Members of Congress (House and Senate) who serve as “enforcers” for their respective parties and keep track
of potential deviations from the party vote on important pieces of legislation.
Floor Leaders
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Members of Congress who play important leadership roles for their parties including majority leader, minority
leader majority whip and minority whip.
Majority Leader
Describes the senior member of the majority party in the House and in the Senate. Serves as party leader to
members of his caucus/conference (Democrat or Republican).
Minority Leader
Senior member of the minority party in the House and in the Senate. Serves as party leader to members of
his/her caucus/conference (Democrat or Republican).
President of the Senate
Formal legislative role and title assigned to the Vice President of the United States.
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President.
Speaker of the House
The most powerful member of the House of Representatives, and arguably, the most influential single legislator in both houses. Elected by the majority party in the House, the speaker serves a number of important
leadership roles and exerts a great amount of influence over which bills will be made into law.
Text Sources:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/03/cool_whip.html Accessed Friday, April 17, 2015.
Saylor.org - American Government and Politics in the Information Age: “Chapter 12: Congress”
ushistory.org; “Leadership in Congress: It’s a Party Matter” in American Government online Textbook. http://w
ww.ushistory.org/gov/6b.asp . Accessed Sunday, April 19,2 015.
References
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Creative Commons NC-SA. saylor.org .
CC BY-NC-SA. https://www.flickr.com/photos/speakerboehner/ .
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