Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate

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The Senate Democratic Caucus (or Conference) is the formal organization of the current 51 Democratic Senators in the United States Senate. In the 112th Congress, the Democratic Caucus additionally includes two independent senators who formally caucus with the Democrats for the purpose of committee assignments and Senate organization, bringing the total to 53 members. The primary organizational front for Democrats in the Senate, its primary function is communicating the party's message to and unifying all of its members. Caucus leadership consists of Senator Harry Reid (NV) as Chairman and Senate Majority Leader, Senator Dick Durbin (IL) as Whip or Assistant Majority Leader, Senator Charles Schumer (NY) as Vice-Chairman, and Senator Patty Murray (WA) as Secretary. The two independent members are Senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

History

The Caucus was formally organized on March 6, 1903, electing a chairman to preside over its members and a secretary to keep minutes. Until that time, the caucus was often disorganized, philosophically divided, and had neither firm written rules of governance nor a clear mission.

111th Congress

The 111th Congress opened on January 3, 2009 with 55 Democrats and two independents in the caucus, for a total of 57 members. The membership total has changed several times since then:

• Membership increased to 58 on January 12, 2009, when Roland Burris was sworn in to fill the seat that had been vacated by then-President-elect Barack Obama, who had resigned from the Senate on November 16, 2008 after being elected President.
• The party change of Arlen Specter (from Republican to Democratic) on April 28, 2009 brought the total to 59.
• When Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota was sworn in on July 7, 2009, membership increased to 60.
• Membership dropped back to 59 at the death of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy on August 26.
• Membership increased back to 60 on the swearing-in of Paul G. Kirk, the designated interim replacement for Ted Kennedy, on September 24.
• Membership returned to 59 on February 4, 2010 after the swearing-in of Scott Brown, who was elected to the seat following the special election on January 19, 2010.
• Membership dropped to 58 upon the death of Senator Robert Byrd.
• Membership returned to 59 with the swearing-in of Carte Goodwin, the designated interim replacement for Robert Byrd on July 20, 2010.^[1]
• Membership dropped to 58 with the swearing-in of Mark Kirk, who won the November 2 special election to fill Barack Obama's senate seat.

With the swearing-in of Goodwin and the increase of the Democratic Caucus to 59 members, the Caucus will still need to gain one vote from the Republican Caucus to muster the 60 votes necessary under Senate Rule 22 to invoke cloture on motions to proceed on a number of major bills. Invoking cloture on a motion to proceed is a parliamentary maneuver that increasingly substitutes for invoking cloture on a filibuster of the underlying bill.

List of caucus chairmen

• John W. Stevenson (inception-1877)
• William A. Wallace (1877–1881)
• George H. Pendleton (1881–1885)
• James B. Beck (1885–1890)
• Arthur P. Gorman (1890–1898)
• David Turpie (1898–1899)
• James K. Jones (1899–1903)
• Arthur P. Gorman (1903–1906)^[2]
• Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn (1906–1907)
• Charles A. Culberson (1907–1909)
• Hernando D. Money (1909–1911)
• Thomas S. Martin (1911–1913)
• John Worth Kern (1913–1917)
• Thomas S. Martin (1917–1919)
• Oscar W. Underwood (1920–1923)^[3]
• Joseph T. Robinson (1923–1937)
• Alben W. Barkley (1937–1949)
• Scott W. Lucas (1949–1951)
• Ernest W. McFarland (1951–1953)
• Lyndon B. Johnson (1953–1961)
• Mike Mansfield (1961–1977)
• Robert C. Byrd (1977–1989)
• George J. Mitchell (1989–1995)
• Thomas A. Daschle (1995–2005)
• Harry M. Reid (2005–present)

Vice Chairmanship

After the victory of Democrats in the Midterm Elections of 2006, an overwhelming majority of the caucus thought of rewarding Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a position in the hierarchy after defeating six incumbent Republicans. In response, Democratic Leader Harry Reid created the position of the Vice Chairman, making it the third ranking Democratic position, after Leader and Whip.

• Chuck Schumer (2007–Present)

References

1. ^ http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/a-new-senator-for-west-virginia/
2. ^ Gorman was the first elected by a formally organized caucus. See Senate.gov
3. ^ Beginning in 1920, the Democratic Conference chairperson also served as Democratic floor leader. In that year, Oscar Underwood became the first officially designated Democratic floor leader, and the tradition of combining the two positions continues to this day.

Bibliography

• Donald A. Ritchie (ed). Minutes of the Senate Democratic Conference: Fifty-eighth through Eighty-eighth Congress, 1903-1964. Washington, D.C., GPO, 1999. Available online in PDF or Text format.

External links

• Official Home of the Senate Democratic Caucus on the Internet
• Senate Party Leadership -- Much of this article's content was adapted from this useful public domain resource.
• First Formal Organization of the Senate Democratic Caucus