Minority leader

Minority leader

In U.S. politics, the minority leader is the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body.[1] Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat, with their counterpart being of the opposite party. The position is essentially that of the Leader of the Opposition. In bicameral legislatures, the counterpart to the minority leader in the lower house is often the Speaker and the majority leader is hence only the second-most senior member of the majority caucus, whereas in the upper house the titular Speaker is often a separately-elected officer such as a lieutenant governor and the majority leader may in fact be the single most powerful member of the majority caucus.

The minority leader is often assisted in his/her role by whips, whose job is to enforce party discipline on votes deemed to be crucial by the party leadership and to ensure that members do not vote in a way not approved of by the party. Some votes are deemed to be so crucial as to lead to punitive measures (such as demotion from choice committee assignments) if the party line is violated; decisions such as these are often made by the minority leader in conjunction with other senior party leaders.

In a state where the executive branch and both houses of the state legislature are controlled by the other party, the minority leader of one of the houses (most often the upper one) may be seen as the seniormost member of the party in that state with regard to state government (although inferior in rank to a United States Senator or United States Representative, if there is such in that party from that state).

At times, particularly with regard to crucial legislation, the minority leader and other senior members of his/her party may be consulted with an eye to enacting such legislation on a bipartisan basis. The minority leader may also work closely with leaders in the majority party to ensure that provisions important to the interests of his party are included in legislation, which often occurs if it can be done without seeming to be seen as particularly harmful to the interests of the majority party.

The level of partisanship in state legislative bodies varies greatly from one state to another, so the foregoing must be regarded as a guideline of rather typical circumstances rather than a reflection of the situation in every state.

See also

References


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  • minority leader — noun leader of the minority party in a legislature • Hypernyms: ↑legislator * * * noun, pl ⋯ ers [count] : the leader of the political party that has fewer members than the leading party in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives the… …   Useful english dictionary

  • minority leader — {n. phr.} The leader of the political party that has fewer votes in a legislative house. * /The minority leader of the Senate supported the bill./ * /The minority leader in the House of Representatives held a caucus./ Compare: MAJORITY LEADER …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • minority leader — {n. phr.} The leader of the political party that has fewer votes in a legislative house. * /The minority leader of the Senate supported the bill./ * /The minority leader in the House of Representatives held a caucus./ Compare: MAJORITY LEADER …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • minority\ leader — n. phr. the leader of the political party that has fewer votes in a legislative house. The minority leader of the Senate supported the bill. The minority leader in the House of Representatives held a caucus. Compare: majority leader …   Словарь американских идиом

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  • minority leader — leader of a minority party in a legislative body; House or Senate member from a minority party who directs party activity on the chamber floor …   English contemporary dictionary

  • minority leader — noun Date: 1909 the leader of the minority party in a legislative body …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • minority leader — minor′ity lead er n. gov the floor leader of the minority party in a legislature • Etymology: 1945–50, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • minority leader — mi nority .leader n AmE the leader of the political party that has fewer politicians in ↑congress than the leading party →↑majority leader …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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