Party leaders of the United States Senate - wikipedia Party leaders of the United States Senate This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2016 ) Current leaders Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R ) Majority Whip John Cornyn ( R ) Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D ) Minority Whip Dick Durbin ( D ) Party Leaders of the U.S. Senate This article is part of a series on the United States Senate History of the United States Senate Members Current members ( by seniority by class ) Former members Hill committees ( DSCC NRSC ) United States Vice President ( list ) President pro tempore ( list ) Presiding officer Party leaders Party leadership of the United States Senate Democratic Caucus Republican Conference Politics and procedure Advice and consent Blue slip Closed session ( list ) Cloture Committees ( list ) Executive session Morning business Filibuster Nuclear option Recess appointment Quorum Quorum call Salaries Saxbe fix Seal Holds Senatorial courtesy Standing Rules Traditions Unanimous consent Vice Presidents ' tie - breaking votes Places United States Capitol Senate chamber Senate Reception Room Senate office buildings ( Dirksen Hart Russell ) The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for the political parties respectively holding the majority and the minority in the United States Senate, and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. They are elected to their positions in the Senate by their respective party caucuses, the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference. By rule, the Presiding Officer gives the Majority Leader priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate. The Majority Leader customarily serves as the chief representative of their party in the Senate, and sometimes even in all of Congress if the House of Representatives and thus the office of Speaker of the House is controlled by the opposition party. The Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate ( commonly called Senate Majority and Minority Whips ) are the second - ranking members of each party 's leadership. The main function of the Majority and Minority Whips is to gather votes on major issues. Because they are the second ranking members of the Senate, if there is no floor leader present, the whip may become acting floor leader. Before 1969, the official titles were Majority Whip and Minority Whip. Contents 1 Current floor leaders 2 History 3 List of party leaders 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External links Current floor leaders The Senate is currently composed of 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats, and 2 independents, both of whom caucus with the Democrats. The current leaders are long - time Senators Mitch McConnell ( R ) from Kentucky and Chuck Schumer ( D ) from New York. The current Assistant Leaders / Whips are long - time Senators John Cornyn ( R ) from Texas and Dick Durbin ( D ) from Illinois. History The Democrats began the practice of electing floor leaders in 1920 while they were in the minority. John W. Kern was a Democratic Senator from Indiana. While the title was not official, he is considered to be the first Senate party leader from 1913 through 1917 ( and in turn, the first Senate Democratic Leader ), while serving concurrently as Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In 1925 the majority ( at the time ) Republicans also adopted this language when Charles Curtis became the first ( official ) Majority Leader, although his immediate predecessor Henry Cabot Lodge is considered the first ( unofficial ) Senate Majority Leader. The Constitution designates the Vice President of the United States as President of the United States Senate. The Constitution also calls for a President pro tempore to serve as the leader of the body when the President of the Senate ( the Vice President ) is absent. In practice, neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore -- customarily the most senior ( longest - serving ) Senator in the majority party -- actually presides over the Senate on a daily basis ; that task is given to junior Senators of the majority party. Since the Vice President may be of a different party than the majority and is not a member subject to discipline, the rules of procedure of the Senate give the presiding officer very little power and none beyond the presiding role. For these reasons, it is the Majority Leader who, in practice, manages the Senate. This is in contrast to the House of Representatives where the elected Speaker of the House has a great deal of discretionary power and generally presides over votes on bills. List of party leaders The Democratic Party first selected a leader in 1920. The Republican Party first formally designated a leader in 1925. Cong - ress Dates Democratic Whip Democratic Leader Majority Republican Leader Republican Whip 63rd May 28, 1913 -- March 4, 1915 J. Hamilton Lewis None Democratic ← Majority None None 64th March 4, 1915 -- December 6, 1915 December 6, 1915 -- December 13, 1915 James Wadsworth December 13, 1915 -- March 4, 1917 Charles Curtis 65th March 4, 1917 -- March 4, 1919 66th March 4, 1919 -- April 27, 1920 Peter Gerry Republican Majority → Henry Cabot Lodge Unofficial April 27, 1920 -- March 4, 1921 Oscar Underwood 67th March 4, 1921 -- March 4, 1923 68th March 4, 1923 -- December 3, 1923 December 3, 1923 -- November 9, 1924 Joseph Taylor Robinson November 9, 1924 -- March 4, 1925 Charles Curtis Acting Wesley Jones Acting 69th March 4, 1925 -- March 4, 1927 Charles Curtis Wesley Jones 70th March 4, 1927 -- March 4, 1929 71st March 4, 1929 -- March 4, 1931 Morris Sheppard James E. Watson Simeon Fess 72nd March 4, 1931 -- March 4, 1933 73rd March 4, 1933 -- January 3, 1935 J. Hamilton Lewis Democratic ← Majority Charles L. McNary Felix Hebert 74th January 3, 1935 -- January 3, 1937 None 75th January 3, 1937 -- July 14, 1937 July 22, 1937 -- January 3, 1939 Alben W. Barkley 76th January 3, 1939 -- April 9, 1939 April 9, 1939 -- January 3, 1940 Sherman Minton January 3, 1940 -- January 3, 1941 Warren Austin Acting 77th January 3, 1941 -- January 3, 1943 J. Lister Hill Charles L. McNary 78th January 3, 1943 -- February 25, 1944 Kenneth Wherry February 25, 1944 -- January 3, 1945 Wallace H. White Jr. Acting 79th January 3, 1945 -- January 3, 1947 Wallace H. White Jr. 80th January 3, 1947 -- January 3, 1949 Scott W. Lucas Republican Majority → 81st January 3, 1949 -- January 3, 1951 Francis Myers Scott W. Lucas Democratic ← Majority Kenneth S. Wherry Leverett Saltonstall 82nd January 3, 1951 -- January 3, 1952 Lyndon B. Johnson Ernest McFarland January 3, 1952 -- January 3, 1953 Styles Bridges 83rd January 3, 1953 -- July 31, 1953 Earle Clements Lyndon B. Johnson Republican Majority → Robert A. Taft August 3, 1953 -- January 3, 1955 William F. Knowland 84th January 3, 1955 -- January 3, 1957 Democratic ← Majority 85th January 3, 1957 -- January 3, 1959 Mike Mansfield Everett Dirksen 86th January 3, 1959 -- January 3, 1961 Everett Dirksen Thomas Kuchel 87th January 3, 1961 -- January 3, 1963 Hubert Humphrey Mike Mansfield 88th January 3, 1963 -- January 3, 1965 89th January 3, 1965 -- January 3, 1967 Russell B. Long 90th January 3, 1967 -- January 3, 1969 91st January 3, 1969 -- September 7, 1969 Ted Kennedy Hugh Scott September 24, 1969 -- January 3, 1971 Hugh Scott Robert Griffin 92nd January 3, 1971 -- January 3, 1973 Robert Byrd 93rd January 3, 1973 -- January 3, 1975 94th January 3, 1975 -- January 3, 1977 95th January 3, 1977 -- January 3, 1979 Alan Cranston Robert Byrd Howard Baker Ted Stevens 96th January 3, 1979 -- November 1, 1979 November 1, 1979 -- March 5, 1980 Ted Stevens Acting March 5, 1980 -- January 3, 1981 Howard Baker 97th January 3, 1981 -- January 3, 1983 Republican Majority → 98th January 3, 1983 -- January 3, 1985 99th January 3, 1985 -- January 3, 1987 Bob Dole Alan Simpson 100th January 3, 1987 -- January 3, 1989 Democratic ← Majority 101st January 3, 1989 -- January 3, 1991 George Mitchell 102nd January 3, 1991 -- January 3, 1993 Wendell H. Ford 103rd January 3, 1993 -- January 3, 1995 104th January 3, 1995 -- June 12, 1996 Tom Daschle Republican Majority → Trent Lott June 12, 1996 -- January 3, 1997 Trent Lott Don Nickles 105th January 3, 1997 -- January 3, 1999 106th January 3, 1999 -- January 3, 2001 Harry Reid 107th January 3, 2001 -- January 20, 2001 Democratic ← Majority January 20, 2001 -- June 6, 2001 Republican Majority → June 6, 2001 -- January 3, 2003 Democratic ← Majority 108th January 3, 2003 -- January 3, 2005 Republican Majority → Bill Frist Mitch McConnell 109th January 3, 2005 -- January 3, 2007 Dick Durbin Harry Reid 110th January 3, 2007 -- December 18, 2007 Democratic ← Majority Mitch McConnell Trent Lott December 19, 2007 -- January 3, 2009 Jon Kyl 111th January 3, 2009 -- January 3, 2011 112th January 3, 2011 -- January 3, 2013 113th January 3, 2013 -- January 3, 2015 John Cornyn 114th January 3, 2015 -- January 3, 2017 Republican Majority → 115th January 3, 2017 -- January 3, 2019 Chuck Schumer Cong - ress Dates Democratic Whip Democratic Leader Majority Republican Leader Republican Whip See also This article is part of a series on the Politics of the United States of America Federal Government Constitution of the United States Law Taxation Legislature United States Congress House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan ( R ) Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy ( R ) Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ( D ) Congressional districts United States Senate President Mike Pence ( R ) President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch ( R ) President Pro Tempore Emeritus Patrick Leahy ( D ) Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R ) Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D ) Executive President of the United States Donald Trump ( R ) Vice President of the United States Mike Pence ( R ) Cabinet Federal agencies Executive Office Judiciary Supreme Court of the United States Chief Justice John Roberts Kennedy Thomas Ginsburg Breyer Alito Sotomayor Kagan Gorsuch Courts of Appeals District Courts ( list ) Other tribunals Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Off - year elections Political parties Democratic Republican Third parties Federalism State Government Governors Legislatures ( List ) State courts Local government Other countries Atlas Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives President pro tempore of the United States Senate Vice President of the United States ( President of the United States Senate ) Party divisions of United States Congresses List of political parties in the United States Notes Jump up ^ No Republican whips were appointed from 1935 to 1944 since only 17 Republicans were in the Senate following the landslide reelection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Accordingly, the minutes of the Republican Conference for the period state : `` On motion of Senator Hastings, duly seconded and carried, it was agreed that no Assistant Leader or Whip be elected but that the chairman be authorized to appoint Senators from time to time to assist him in taking charge of the interests of the minority. '' A note attached to the conference minutes added : `` The chairman of the conference, Senator McNary, apparently appointed Senator Austin of Vermont as assistant leader in 1943 and 1944, until the conference adopted Rules of Organization. '' Source : Party Whips Archived 2010 - 03 - 09 at the Wayback Machine., via Senate.gov Jump up ^ Democrats remained in control after November 25, 2002, despite a Republican majority resulting from Jim Talent 's special election victory in Missouri. There was no reorganization as the Senate was no longer in session. Party Division in the Senate, 1789 -- present, via Senate.gov External links Majority and Minority Leaders and Party Whips, via Senate.gov Republican Majority Democratic Minority Current leadership of the United States Senate President : Mike Pence ( R ) President pro tempore : Orrin Hatch ( R ) Majority ( Republican ) Minority ( Democratic ) Mitch McConnell ( Leader ) John Cornyn ( Whip ) John Thune ( Conference Chair ) John Barrasso ( Policy Committee Chair ) Roy Blunt ( Conference Vice Chair ) Cory Gardner ( Campaign Committee Chair ) Mike Lee ( Steering Committee Chair ) Mike Crapo ( Chief Deputy Whip ) Chuck Schumer ( Leader and Caucus Chair ) Dick Durbin ( Whip ) Patty Murray ( Assistant Leader ) Debbie Stabenow ( Policy Committee Chair ) Mark Warner and Elizabeth Warren ( Caucus Vice Chair ) Amy Klobuchar ( Steering Committee Chair ) Bernie Sanders ( Outreach Committee Chair ) Joe Manchin ( Policy Committee Vice Chair ) Tammy Baldwin ( Caucus Secretary ) Chris Van Hollen ( Campaign Committee Chair ) Jeff Merkley ( Chief Deputy Whip ) Patrick Leahy ( Senate President pro tempore emeritus ) United States Congress House of Representatives Senate ( 114th ← 115th → 116th ) Lists of congressional lists Members and leaders Members Current By length of service Freshmen Youngest members Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Delegates Senate Current by seniority Dean of the Senate Former U.S. Senators living Earliest serving Earliest living Expelled or censured Classes Born outside the U.S. House Current by seniority Dean of the House Former U.S. Representatives living Oldest living Earliest serving Expelled, censured, and reprimanded Leaders Senate President ( list ) President pro tempore ( list ) Majority and minority leaders Assistant party leaders Democratic Caucus ( Chair Secretary Policy Committee Chair ) Republican Conference ( Chair Vice-Chair Policy Committee Chair ) House Speaker Leaders Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group Democratic Caucus Republican Conference Districts List Apportionment Caucuses, women and minorities Congressional caucus African Americans in the House Congressional Black Caucus African Americans in the Senate Arab and Middle - Eastern members Asian Pacific American members Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Hispanic and Latino members Congressional Hispanic Caucus Congressional Hispanic Conference Jewish members LGBT members LGBT Equality Caucus Native American members Women in the House Congressional Caucus for Women 's Issues Women in the Senate Related By length of service historically Powers, privileges, procedure, committees, history, and media Powers Article I Copyright Commerce ( Dormant ) Contempt of Congress Declaration of war Impeachment Naturalization `` Necessary and Proper '' Power of enforcement Taxing / spending Privileges and benefits Salaries Franking Immunity Procedure Act of Congress ( list ) Appropriation bill Blue slip Budget resolution Censure Closed sessions House Senate Cloture Concurrent resolution Continuing resolution Dear colleague letter Discharge petition Engrossed bill Enrolled bill Expulsion Joint resolution Joint session ( list ) Lame - duck session Majority of the majority ( Hastert Rule ) Multiple referral Procedures ( House ) Quorum call Reconciliation Rider Saxbe fix Sponsorship Suspension of the rules Unanimous consent Veto Line - item veto Pocket veto Veto override Senate - specific Advice and consent Classes Executive communication Executive session Filibuster Jefferson 's Manual Senate Journal Morning business Nuclear option Presiding Officer Recess appointment Reconciliation Riddick 's Senate Procedure Senate hold Senatorial courtesy Seniority Standing Rules Tie - breaking votes Traditions Treaty Clause Committees Chairman and ranking member Of the Whole Conference Discharge petition Hearings Markup Oversight List ( Joint ) List ( House ) List ( Senate ) Select and special Standing Subcommittees Items Gavels Mace of the House Seal of the Senate History Biographical Directory Congressional apportionment Divided government House Gerrymandering Party control Senate Senate election disputes Senatorial memoirs Representative memoirs Media C - SPAN Congressional Quarterly The Hill Politico Roll Call Offices, employees, services, and the Capitol Complex Legislative offices Congressional staff Government Accountability Office ( Comptroller General ) Architect of the Capitol Capitol Police ( Capitol Police Board ) Capitol Guide Service ( Capitol Guide Board ) Congressional Budget Office ( CBO ) Compliance Library of Congress Government Publishing Office ( GPO ) Technology Assessment Offices Senate Curator Historical Library House Congressional Ethics Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations Interparliamentary Affairs Legislative Counsel Law Revision Counsel Library Employees Senate Secretary Chaplain Curator Inspector General Historian Librarian Pages Parliamentarian Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper House Chaplain Chief Administrative Officer Clerk Doorkeeper Floor Operations Floor Services Chief Historian Pages ( Page Board ) Parliamentarian Postmaster Reading Clerk Sergeant at Arms Library of Congress Congressional Research Service ( reports ) Copyright Office ( Register of Copyrights ) Law Library Poet Laureate THOMAS Adams Building Jefferson Building Madison Building Government Publishing Office Public Printer Congressional Pictorial Directory Congressional Record Official Congressional Directory United States Government Manual Serial Set Statutes at Large United States Code Capitol Brumidi Corridors Congressional Prayer Room Crypt Dome Statue of Freedom Rotunda Hall of Columns Statuary Hall Visitor Center The Apotheosis of Washington Statue of Freedom Declaration of Independence painting Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States Apotheosis of Democracy First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln Surrender of General Burgoyne Surrender of Lord Cornwallis Revolutionary War Door Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way Vice President 's Room Vice Presidential Bust Collection Office buildings Senate Dirksen Hart Mountains and Clouds Russell House Building Commission Cannon Ford Longworth O'Neill Rayburn Other facilities Botanic Garden Health and Fitness Facility House Recording Studio Senate chamber Old Senate Chamber Old Supreme Court Chamber Power Plant Webster Page Residence Subway ` Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Party_leaders_of_the_United_States_Senate&oldid=832195445 '' Categories : Leaders of the United States Senate Lists of United States Senators Political whips Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles lacking sources from February 2016 All articles lacking sources Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from July 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2009 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español فارسی Français Italiano 日本 語 Polski Português Simple English Svenska Tiếng Việt 中文 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 24 March 2018, at 12 : 18. 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Question: who is the official head of the us senate
Answer: the Vice President of the United States