Order Code RL30960
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The President Pro Tempore of the Senate:
History and Authority of the Office
Updated June 19, 2001
Richard C. Sachs
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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The President Pro Tempore of the Senate
History and Authority of the Office
Summary
The U.S. Constitution establishes the office of the President pro tempore of the
Senate to preside over the Senate in the Vice President’s absence. Since 1997, the
President pro tempore has stood third in line to succeed to the presidency, after the
Vice President and the Speaker of the House.
Although the President pro tempore’s powers are limited and not comparable to
those of the Speaker of the House, as the chamber’s presiding officer, he is authorized
to perform certain duties. For example, he may decide points of order (subject to
appeal) and enforce decorum in the Senate chamber and galleries.
Early in the Nation’s history, some Presidents pro tempore appointed Senators
to standing committees. While they no longer do so, election to the office is
considered one of the highest honors bestowed by the Senate, and Presidents pro
tempore are traditionally accorded a somewhat larger salary and allowances for staff.
Recent research indicates that 88 different Senators have served as President pro
tempore. (See Gerald Gamm and Stephen S. Smith, Last Among Equals: The
Senate’s Presiding Officer, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
Political Science Association, Boston, September, 1998). Sixty-one served prior to
1900, when Vice Presidents routinely presided over the chamber and Presidents pro
tempore were elected to serve only for limited periods when the Vice President was
absent or ill, or the office was vacated. Frequently, several different Presidents pro
tempore were chosen in a single congressional session, “on the basis of their personal
characteristics, popularity, and reliability.” (See Robert C. Byrd, “President Pro
Tempore of the Senate,” in Donald C. Bacon, Roger H. Davidson, and Morton
Keller, eds., The Encyclopedia of the Congress, 4 vols. (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1995, vol. 3, p. 1604)).
Since 1890, the President pro tempore has customarily been the majority party
Senator with the longest continuous service. Twice, the Senate has also created an
office of Deputy President pro tempore to honor a colleague, and an office of
Permanent Acting President pro tempore in a third instance for the same reason. In
2001, the Senate also created an office of President pro tempore Emeritus.
This report traces the constitutional origins and development of the office of
President pro tempore of the Senate, reviews its current role and authority, and
provides information on Senators who have held this office, and the more recently
created subsidiary offices, over the past two centuries.

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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Historical Development of the Office of the President Pro Tempore . . . . . . . . . . 3
Origins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Election to the Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Practice of President Pro Tempore Being the Senator With Longest
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Salary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Power, Authority, and Responsibilities of the President Pro Tempore . . . . . . . 10
Power and Authority as Presiding Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Position as Presidential Successor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Other Duties and Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Political Influence of the Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Offices of the Deputy President Pro Tempore, the Permanent Acting President
Pro Tempore, and the President Pro Tempore Emeritus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Office of the Deputy President Pro Tempore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Office of the Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore . . . . . . . . . . 17
Office of the President Pro Tempore Emeritus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Appendix: Political Party Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Selected References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
List of Tables
Table 1: Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1789-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Table 2: Deputy Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1977-2001 . . . . . . . . 28
Table 3: Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1964-2001 . 28
Table 4: President Pro Tempore Emeritus of the Senate, 2001 - . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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The President Pro Tempore of the Senate:
History and Authority of the Office
Introduction
The President pro tempore of the Senate is one of only three legislative officers
established by the U.S. Constitution. The other two are the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the Vice President of the United States, who also serves as
President of the Senate. The Constitution designates the President pro tempore to
serve in the Vice President’s absence. The President pro tempore is often popularly
known as the President pro tem.
The role of the President pro tempore has evolved since John Langdon of New
Hampshire first took the chair on April 6, 1789, in the absence of Vice President John
Adams.1 Once only temporary stand-ins for the Vice President, contemporary
Presidents pro tempore now effectively serve as long as their party holds a majority
in the Senate. By virtue of the Succession Act of 1792, the President pro tempore
stood second in the line of presidential succession after the Vice President for nearly
a century. The Succession Act of 1886 removed the President pro tempore as a
successor. With the passage of the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the President
pro tempore was restored to the line of succession, this time following the Vice
President and the Speaker of the House. At one time Presidents pro tempore
appointed committee members and wielded considerable power within the Senate, but
are now limited in their independent authority.
Perhaps the greatest change in the office has come since 1890, when the Senate
decided that Presidents pro tempore would hold the office continuously until the
election of a successor, regardless of whether the Vice President was present or
absent. Since that time, the office has been customarily occupied by the most senior
Senator of the majority party. Although the office’s practical authority has
diminished, it remains powerfully symbolic of the dignity of the United States Senate.
As one noted historian of the Senate has written, “election of a [S]enator to the office
of the [P]resident pro tempore has always been considered one of the highest honors
offered to a [S]enator by the Senate as a body.”2
1John Langdon was first elected President pro tempore on April 6, 1789 for the purpose of
counting the electoral vote ballots for President and Vice President. Technically, he did not
replace Vice President Adams in the chair, but served prior to the Vice President’s formal
election on that day. See Debates and Proceedings of the Congress of the United States,
vol. 1, April 6, 1789 (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1834), pp. 16-17, 22. Vice President
Adams first appeared in the Senate on April 21,1789.
2Robert C. Byrd, The Senate, 1789-1989: Addresses on the History of the United States
(continued...)

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CRS-2
On January 3, 2001, the first day of the 107th Congress, the Senate approved
S.Res. 3, electing Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, to be President pro
tempore from January 3 until January 20, 2001, and Strom Thurmond, Republican of
South Carolina, to be President pro tempore beginning at noon on January 20.3 In
May 2001, Senator James Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party and became
an Independent. As a result, the Democratic Party became the majority party in the
Senate, and on June 6, 2001, the Senate agreed to S.Res. 100, electing Senator Byrd,
for the second time in the 107th Congress, President pro tempore.4 At the same time,
the Senate also agreed to S.Res. 103, designating Senator Thurmond as President pro
tempore Emeritus of the Senate.5
In addition to a survey of the origins, history, and authorities of the office of the
President pro tempore, this report includes accompanying tables that provide further
historical data. Table 1 identifies each of the Presidents pro tempore since 1789.
Table 2 provides information on the two Senators who have held the office of Deputy
President pro tempore. Historical data on the single Senator to serve as Permanent
Acting President pro tempore is found in Table 3. Table 4 notes Senator Thurmond’s
designation as President pro tempore Emeritus. A brief bibliography is also provided.
An appendix explains the abbreviations used to denote party affiliations in Table 1.
In addition to statutory law and rules of the Senate, other sources provide
information on the office of the President pro tempore. The principal source for party
affiliations in Table 1 is Senator Robert C. Byrd’s The Senate, 1789-1989, vol. IV:
Historical Statistics, 1789-1992.6 The Senate Manual contains tables similar to
Tables 1 and 2 in this report.7
The official compilation of Senate precedents, including those relating to the
President pro tempore, is printed as Riddick’s Senate Procedure. The latest version,
2(...continued)
Senate, S.Doc. 100-20, 100th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 1991), vol. 2, p. 183.
3This unusual election for President pro tempore was the consequence of the 2000 elections
that resulted in a Senate of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. Since the 107th Congress
convened before the inauguration of Republican President-elect George W. Bush on January
20th, the Senate was controlled from January 3 until January 20, 2001, by the Democratic
Party. Because Vice President Albert Gore continued to be President of the Senate, Senator
Byrd, a Democrat, was elected as President pro tempore for this period. Following
Republican Richard B. Cheney’s inauguration as Vice President, Senator Thurmond became
President pro tempore. See S.Res. 3, adopted Jan. 3, 2001. “Election of the Honorable Robert
C. Byrd As President Pro Tempore And Election of the Honorable Strom Thurmond As
President Pro Tempore,” Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 147, pp. S6-S7.
4See S.Res. 100, adopted June 6, 2001.“Election of the Honorable C. Byrd as President Pro
Tempore,” Congressional Record, daily edition, vol 147, p. S5843.
5See S.Res. 103, adopted June 6, 2001. “Thanking and Electing Strom Thurmond President
Pro Tempore Emeritus,” Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 147, p. S5844..
6Robert C. Byrd, The Senate, 1789-1989, 4 vols., S.Doc. 100-20, 100th Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1993), vol. 4, pp.647-653.
7Senate Manual, S.Doc. 106-1, 106th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2000), pp.991-996.

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CRS-3
revised and edited by Senate parliamentarian Alan S. Frumin, was printed in 1992
(Senate Document 101-28).8 Senate precedents are also available on-line from the
Senate Legis data base, although they are complete only through 1988. On-line
statutory information about the President pro tempore can also be found in
commercial data bases such as Lexis-Nexis, and for free through the Web site of the
U.S. Government Printing Office and its United States Code search engine.9 Recent
scholarship also contributed to this report.10
Historical Development of the Office of the
President Pro Tempore
Origins. Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution declares that:
The Senate shall choose their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore in
the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President
of the United States.
Aside from the Vice President’s designation as President of the Senate, the President
pro tempore is the only position in the Senate explicitly established by the
Constitution.
After a sufficient number of Senators arrived to constitute a quorum for the First
Congress on April 6, 1789, the credentials of those present were approved and
ordered filed. Next, the chamber selected a President of the Senate “for the sole
purpose of opening and counting the votes for President of the United States.”11 John
Langdon of New Hampshire was elected, and performed this task. After the election
of John Adams as Vice President, the Senate immediately “proceeded by ballot to the
choice of a President of their body, pro tempore” because Adams had not yet arrived
to assume his duties as President of the Senate.12
Again, Langdon was chosen, this time to preside over the Senate, and he
continued to do so until Vice President Adams appeared in the chamber on April 21,
1789. When Vice President Adams took the chair, Langdon’s service as President
8Floyd M. Riddick and Alan S. Frumin, Riddick’s Senate Procedure: Precedents and
Practices, S.Doc. 101-28, 101st Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 1992).
9“Keeping America Informed; United States Government Printing Office,” [http://www.
access.gpo.gov/].
10See Gerald Gamm and Stephen S. Smith, Last Among Equals: The Senate’s Presiding
Officer, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association,
Boston, Sept., 1998. Hereafter, Gamm and Smith, Last Among Equals.
11U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, April 6, 1789, 1st Cong., 1st sess., p. 7.
12Ibid., p. 8.

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CRS-4
pro tempore came to an end. Langdon was re-elected to the office on August 7,
1789, when Adams was again absent.13
Tenure. For more than a century, the Senate acted upon the theory that a
President pro tempore could be chosen only in the absence of the Vice President, and
that the tenure of a President pro tempore expired when the Vice President resumed
his duties in the Senate.14 Under this interpretation of the Constitution, the Senate
elected a President pro tempore each time the Vice President was absent at the
beginning of a daily session. Between April 1789 and March 1890, the Senate elected
Presidents pro tempore on no fewer than 166 occasions. A record 10 such elections
were held during the 42nd Congress.
During the period from April 1789 to March 1890, Presidents pro tempore
usually served no more than a few consecutive days before the Vice President
returned to displace them. A few men, however, did enjoy relatively long
uninterrupted tenures because of the death, extended illness, or chronic absenteeism
of some Vice Presidents, or because of a vice presidential vacancy following the death
of a President.
Between 1811 and 1825, for example, John Gaillard of South Carolina and, to
a lesser degree, James Barbour of Virginia served as Presidents pro tempore for
considerable periods due to the deaths of two Vice Presidents and the absenteeism of
a third. Two different Senators were President pro tempore for nearly four years after
Vice President John Tyler assumed the presidency in March 1841 following William
Henry Harrison’s death one month after his inauguration as chief executive. Samuel
L. Southard of New Jersey occupied the chair for the remainder of 1841 and the first
five months of 1842, when Willie P. Mangum of North Carolina was chosen President
pro tempore. Mangum served until the inauguration of the next Vice President,
George M. Dallas on March 3, 1845.
Similarly, William R. King of Alabama served extensively in the chair during the
late 1830s and early 1840s by virtue of his election as President pro tempore on nine
consecutive occasions, between July 1836 and March 1841. King also held the
position continuously from mid-1850 through late 1852 after Vice President Millard
Fillmore succeeded to the presidency upon President Zachary Taylor’s death. Senator
Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio also enjoyed a long term as President pro tempore after
Andrew Johnson became President following President Abraham Lincoln’s
13Ibid., p. 14; also, George H. Haynes, The Senate of the United States, 2 vols. (New York:
Russell and Russell, [1938] 1960), vol. 1, p. 249.
14In its report of January 6, 1876, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections declared:
“The office of the president pro tempore of the Senate must expire whenever the absence of
the Vice President is at an end and he appears in the Senate to preside.” U.S. Congress,
Senate, S. Rpt. 3, [Election of President Pro Tempore], 44th Cong., 1st sess, (Washington:
GPO, 1876), p. 2. See also, George P. Furber, Precedents Relating to the Privileges of the
Senate of the United States, S. Misc. Doc. 68, 52nd Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO,
1893), p. 176.

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CRS-5
assassination, as did Senator John Sherman of Ohio, and subsequently John J. Ingalls
of Kansas following Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks death in 1885.15
By the late 19th century, the Senate’s workload had grown dramatically and the
parties had increasingly assumed responsibility for organizing the work of the chamber
and controlling debate on the floor.16 The role of the presiding officer was
consequently diminished. Moreover, questions had arisen over the years about the
election of the President pro tempore. For example, is the President pro tempore of
the Senate an officer of the Senate, and, does the death of the Vice President after the
election of a President pro tempore have the effect of vacating the office of the
President pro tempore and requiring a new election? These questions were raised in
concrete form following the death in November 1875 of Vice President Henry Wilson,
considered a “highly efficient and acceptable presiding officer.”17 In January 1876 a
report by the Committee on Privileges and Elections responded to these and other
issues involving the “character and tenure”of the President pro tempore.18
After debate on the committee’s report, the Senate adopted several clarifying
resolutions. First, it determined that the tenure of a President pro tempore elected at
one session would continue without interruption through a recess and into the next
session until the Vice President appeared.
Second, it decided that the death of a Vice President did not automatically vacate
the office of the President pro tempore if one had been properly chosen. Third, the
Senate affirmed its authority to replace a President pro tempore whenever it pleased.19
These questions were of more than internal Senate interest throughout this
period, since the President pro tempore followed the Vice President in the order of
succession to the presidency. The Succession Act of 1792 provided that if both the
President and Vice President were to die or otherwise become unable to exercise the
powers of the presidency at a time when the Senate was officially absent from the
nation’s capital, and if that body had not chosen a President pro tempore to hold the
15Until the 20th century there was no seniority system in the Senate. Of the Senators elected
President pro tempore between 1870 and 1900, only two ranked first in their party:
“[S]enators instead tended to elect men who were distinguished, popular, and familiar with
parliamentary law.” Gamm and Smith, Last Among Equals, p. 4.
16Ibid., p. 15.
17George Henry Haynes, “Henry Wilson,” in Dictionary of American Biography, 10 vols.,
(New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1936), vol. 10, p. 324.
18U.S. Congress, Senate, S.Rept. 3, [Election of President Pro Tempore], 44th Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1876), p. 1.
19U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, “Election of President Pro Tempore,” 44th Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1875), pp. 90, 99. See also: “Office of the President Pro Tempore,”
Congressional Record, vol. 4, Jan. 10, 1876, pp. 311-316, and Jan. 11, 1876, pp. 360-373.
These resolutions formalized what had been the usual, though unwritten practice of the Senate
prior to their adoption.

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CRS-6
office during the recess, then the Speaker of the House, under the law, would “act as
President of the United States ....”20
Considering the transportation available in those days, it might take weeks before
enough Senators could reassemble and choose a new President pro tempore.
Prudence therefore required that the Senate should elect someone to hold that office
during the recesses between sessions of a Congress. Because the Senate at the time
acted upon the theory that it could not choose a President pro tempore while the Vice
President was present, it quickly became the custom after 1792 for the latter to
withdraw from the chamber shortly before the end of a session so that Senators might
“legally” elect one of their own to the position.21 Further, historian George H. Haynes
notes:
In order that a Senator might be in a position to take upon himself the duties of
President of the United States if the necessity should arise, a precedent, set by John
Adams and scrupulously followed by Jefferson and Burr, was established whereby
the Vice-President would absent himself—‘out of courtesy, not necessity,’ as
Senator Evarts insisted—a day or so before the end of the session, to afford the
Senate an opportunity to elect a President pro tempore who should hold office
during the recess.22
Such withdrawals, as noted, were matters of courtesy rather than law, and while
most Vice Presidents adhered to the custom, a few, inevitably, did not, usually
because of critical political circumstances.23 When both the President pro tempore
and the Speaker of the House were removed from the line of succession by the
Succession Act of January 19, 1886, the necessity for such maneuvers was
eliminated.24
201 Stat. 240.
21U.S. Congress, Senate, S. Rept. 3, “Election of President Pro Tempore,” 44th Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1876), pp. 3-5. See also, George H. Haynes, The Senate of the United
States; Its History and Practice, 2 vols. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1938), vol. 1, p. 256.
22Haynes, The Senate of the United States, vol. 1, p. 256.
23For example, Vice President Elbridge Gerry refused to vacate the chair in 1813 when
President James Madison was seriously ill and the administration’s enemies controlled the
Senate. Similarly, Vice President George M. Dallas refused to retire at the end of the special
session of 1845. Furber, Precedents Relating to the Privileges of the Senate, p. 179. “In
March, 1881, the casting vote of the Vice-President was necessary to secure for the
Republicans the organization of the Senate. Under those circumstances their ability to elect
a President pro tempore was so uncertain that Vice-President Chester A. Arthur, like Vice
President Gerry in 1813, ‘sat the session out;’ and Congress adjourned, May 20, with no one
beyond the Vice President in the line of succession .... Four years later, Vice-President
Thomas A. Hendricks continued to occupy the Chair till the end of the short session, April 2,
thus preventing the Republicans, then in majority, from choosing a President pro tempore.”
Haynes, The Senate of the United States, vol. 1, pp. 257-258.
24See CRS Report 98-731, Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession, by Thomas H.
Neale, p. 3.

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Four years later the Senate resolved the question of the President pro tempore’s
tenure when it adopted a resolution originally introduced by Senator William M.
Evarts of New York. As accepted by the Senate on March 12, 1890, the resolution
read:
Resolved, That it is competent for the Senate to elect a President pro tempore, who
shall hold the office during the pleasure of the Senate and until another is elected,
and shall execute the duties thereof during all future absences of the Vice-President
until the Senate otherwise order.25
That resolution is still in effect. Under its terms a President pro tempore, once elected,
holds the post continuously whether or not the Vice President is absent (although, of
course, he may not preside over the Senate unless the Vice President steps down from
the chair). The tenure of the President pro tempore ends upon the expiration of the
term for which he was elected Senator, a precedent dating back to at least 1841. He
may, of course, resign, or the Senate may elect another in his stead at its pleasure.
The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 restored the President pro tempore to
the line of succession, placing him after the Vice President and Speaker of the House
and ahead of the cabinet.26 But neither the 1947 Act nor the 25th Amendment to the
Constitution, which further clarifies the rule of presidential succession, has any impact
on the tenure of the President pro tempore in his relationship to the Senate as the
chamber’s presiding officer.27
Election to the Office. The usual practice of the Senate has been to elect as
its President pro tempore a candidate of the majority party—almost invariably by a
straight party vote. Most often, that person has continued to serve in the post so long
as his party remains in the majority.
On a few occasions, the majority party has experienced great difficulty in electing
its candidate. Late in 1881, for example, Democrats in the Senate refused to permit
administration of the oath of office to several Republicans waiting to be sworn in as
Senators. As a result of this maneuver, the Democrats maintained a narrow majority
of the votes in the chamber and proceeded to elect one of their own, Delaware’s
Thomas F. Bayard, as President pro tempore. Even after the missing Republicans had
been installed, the Senate remained equally divided between the two major parties.
An arrangement was eventually agreed upon and an independent Senator, David
Davis of Illinois, was elected to replace Bayard as President pro tempore.28
When the 62nd Congress convened in 1911, Republicans held a nominal majority
of seats in the Senate. However, a faction of seven progressive Republicans refused
to vote for the regular Republican candidate for President pro tempore and their
25U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, 50th Cong., 2nd sess., p. 165. See also “President Pro
Tempore of the Senate,” Congressional Record, vol. 21, March 12, 1890, pp. 2144-2150.
2661 Stat. 380.
27CRS Report 98-731, Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession, pp. 3-4.
28U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, 47th Cong., 1st sess., pp. 7, 10, 14.

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CRS-8
defection prevented election of a presiding officer. (While neither the Constitution
nor the rules of the Senate explicitly exclude election of a President pro tempore by
a plurality, the practice of the Senate has been to assume that a majority vote is
required.) One observer noted:
After fifteen ballots, distributed through five days compromise became necessary
to enable business to go forward. Upon motion of a Republican leader, a
Democrat was unanimously elected President pro tempore for a single day, and
thereafter for the rest of the session, ending August 26, 1912, Presidents pro
tempore were elected for brief, designated periods, Senator [Augustus] Bacon,
Democrat, alternating with four Republicans, some of whom served for but a
single day. In the short session which ended that sixty-second Congress, this
alternating arrangement was continued, [Augustus] Bacon, Democrat, and [Jacob]
Gallinger, Republican, each serving a fortnight at a time.29
Practice of President Pro Tempore Being the Senator With Longest
Service. Of the 13 Presidents pro tempore who have served since 1945, only one
has not been the most senior Senator in his party—Senator Arthur Vandenberg of
Michigan, was the second ranking Republican in the Senate at the time of his election
in 1947.30
Prior to 1945, while the parties had for the most part tended to put forward men
with long senatorial service as candidates for President pro tempore, there were some
notable exceptions. Senator George H. Moses of New Hampshire ranked only 15th
among Senate Republicans when he was elected President pro tempore in 1925, and
Senator Albert B. Cummins of Iowa ranked only 12th when he was first chosen in
1919. In 1846, Senator David R. Atchison of Missouri was elected President pro
tempore before he had completed half his first term as a Senator, and Senator Willard
Saulsbury of Delaware was also still in his first term when the Senate elevated him to
the post on December 14, 1916.
Even during the 19th century, the Senate sometimes elected Presidents pro
tempore from among the longest serving members of the Senate. Men like Senators
William P. Frye of Maine, John J. Ingalls of Kansas, Allen G. Thurman of Ohio, and
Henry B. Anthony of Rhode Island had significant seniority when elected President
pro tempore. That tradition continued and evolved in the 20th century, with the
exceptions noted above. By the middle of the 20th century, the Senate was routinely
electing as its President pro tempore the most senior Senator of the majority party.
Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, the most senior Republican in the
107th Congress, was one of two Senators in the 20th century to serve two non-
consecutive terms as President pro tempore, and one of two Senators in the post-war
29Haynes, The Senate of the United States, 1, p. 252.
30Arthur Capper of Kansas was the senior Republican Senator in 1947. However,
Vandenberg had been his party’s choice for President pro tempore for several Congresses
before the Republicans ascended to the majority in 1947. He was considered by party leaders
more in the party’s mainstream than Capper; and Capper, himself, was in poor health.
Interview with Donald A. Ritchie, associate historian, Senate Historical Office, Oct. 19, 2000.

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era to serve three non-consecutive terms. He first served from 1981 to 1987, and
then was elected again at the beginning of the104th Congress in 1995. Following the
interim election of Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia (the most senior
Democrat) to serve at the start of the 107th Congress (from January 3, 2001 to
January 20, 2001), Senator Thurmond was again elected as President pro tempore to
serve beginning at noon on January 20, 2001. Senator Thurmond is the oldest Senator
to have held the office.
Senator Byrd, the only other Senator in the modern era to serve three non-
consecutive terms, first served as President pro tempore from 1989 to 1995, prior to
his tenure from January 3, 2001 to January 20, 2001. He was again elected President
pro tempore in the 107th Congress on June 6, 2001, after Senator James Jeffords of
Vermont left the Republican Party and became an Independent, and control of the
Senate switched to the Democrats. Senator Kenneth McKellar from Tennessee, the
other Senator to serve two non-consecutive terms, held the chair from 1945 to 1947,
and again from 1949 to 1953.
Salary. In 1816, Congress for the first time accorded the President pro tempore
a larger salary than that allotted to other Senators, but only when the office of Vice
President was vacant.31 In 1818, the law was amended so that the President pro
tempore would receive additional compensation for each day he presided over the
Senate, whether the office of Vice President was vacant, or the Vice President was
absent.32
In 1845, and again in 1854, when the office of the Vice President was vacant,
the Senate in each case adopted a resolution authorizing compensation for the
President pro tempore that was equal to that established by law for the Vice
President.33 The practice of compensating Presidents pro tempore at the same rate
as the Vice President when the vice presidency is vacant was confirmed in law on
August 16, 1856.34 In 1969, the salary of the President pro tempore was fixed at the
same level as that of the majority and minority leaders of both houses.35 When a
vacancy exists in the office of the Vice President, the President pro tempore receives
the salary provided the Vice President.36 The current salary of the President pro
tempore is $157,000. If there is no Vice President, it is $181,40037
313 Stat. 257.
323 Stat. 404.
33U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, 28th Cong., 2nd sess., p. 243; also, Senate Journal, 33rd
Cong., 2nd sess., p. 31.
3411 Stat. 48.
3583 Stat. 107, Sept. 15, 1969.
3611 Stat. 48.
37103 Stat. 1769, Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989), codified at 2
U.S.C. 31(2)(A).

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CRS-10
Power, Authority, and Responsibilities of the
President Pro Tempore
The President pro tempore lacks the formal institutional and political powers of
the Speaker of the House—the congressional officer to whom he is often compared.
Nor does he have the stature and authority of the major party leaders in the Senate,
especially the majority and minority floor leaders. Nevertheless, the Constitution,
public law, the chamber’s rules and precedents, and Senate customs provide the
President pro tempore a significant role to play in the life of the Senate.
Power and Authority as Presiding Officer. For about ten years, from late
1823 to late 1833, Presidents pro tempore enjoyed the privilege of appointing the
membership of the Senate’s standing committees at the beginning of a session.38
Several times during the later years of this period the rule was partially suspended so
that the Senate could elect the President pro tempore to a chairmanship.39 The
President pro tempore also evidently appointed Senators to committees in 1838, 1843
and 1863.40
As a presiding officer, the powers and prerogatives of the President pro tempore
historically have differed little from those of the Vice President. One notable
exception involves the privilege of appointing a substitute to perform the duties of the
chair. From 1820 until 1883, the Senate operated under a rule stating, in part, that
“the Presiding Officer shall have the right to name a Senator to perform the duties of
the Chair, but such substitution shall not extend beyond an adjournment.”41
That rule was subsequently amended to restrict the privilege solely to the
President pro tempore.42 Moreover, the Senate had many times previously honored
the request of a President pro tempore that another Senator take his place for a day
or longer, while denying the same privilege to the Vice President.43
38Furber, Precedents, pp. 335-336; Haynes, The Senate of the United States, vol. 2, pp. 273-
275.
39Henry H. Gilfrey, Precedents: Decisions on Points of Order with Phraseology ... 1789-
1913, S.Doc. 1123, 62nd Cong., 3rd sess. (Washington: GPO., 1914), p. 268.
40Furber, Precedents, pp. 337, 339.
41U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, 16th Cong., 1st sess., p. 63.
42“Rule 1: Appointment of a Senator to the Chair,” Congressional Record, vol. 15, Dec. 18,
1883, pp. 160-163; and “Amendment to Rule 1,” Ibid., Jan. 7, 1884, p. 237.
43For an example of the Senate’s refusal to accept a direct substitution made by the Vice
President, see the incident of January 11, 1847, when the Senate ignored a letter from Vice
President George M. Dallas designating Senator David R. Atchison to preside for that day,
defeated a resolution appointing Atchison President pro tempore, and then proceeded to elect
Atchison to the post by ballot. See U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, 29th Cong., 2nd sess., pp.
161-164. For examples of action by the President pro tempore to appoint substitutes, see
Furber, Precedents, pp. 186-188.

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CRS-11
In 1902, the rules were further amended to empower the President pro tempore
to designate a Senator to perform the duties of the chair for an unspecified time
during a vacancy in the office of Vice President.44 Usually the President pro tempore
designates members of his own party to replace him in the chair, but not always. In
a notable exception, President pro tempore Carl Hayden, a Democrat, once appointed
Republican Senator George D. Aiken of Vermont to preside for a day.45
Under the Constitution, the Vice President may cast a vote in the Senate only
when the body is equally divided.46 The question of whether or not a President pro
tempore retained his vote while he was performing the duties of his office was
clarified by a Senate resolution adopted on April 19, 1792, which declared that he
retained “his right to vote upon all questions.”47
In the modern Senate, with the exception of his authority to appoint other
Senators to preside, the President pro tempore’s powers as presiding officer differ
little from those of the Vice-President, or any other Senator who presides over the
Senate. These powers include the authority to:
! Recognize Senators desiring to speak, introduce bills, or offer amendments and
motions to bills being debated. The presiding officer’s power of recognition
is much more limited than that of the House Speaker or whomever presides in
the House. In the Senate, the presiding officer is required by Rule XIX to
recognize the first Senator on his feet and seeking recognition.48 By tradition,
leaders and committee managers are given precedence in recognition;
! Decide points of order, subject to appeal by the full Senate;
! Appoint Senators to House-Senate conference committees, although this
functions is largely ministerial. Conferees are almost always first determined
by the floor managers of the bill and then approved on the floor by unanimous
consent. A list of the appointments is then provided to the chair;
! Enforce decorum;
! Administer oaths; and
44Senate Rule I(3). The rule today reads: “The President pro tempore shall have the right to
name in open Senate, or, if absent, in writing, a Senator to perform the duties of the Chair,
including the signing of duly enrolled bills and joint resolutions but such substitution shall not
extend beyond an adjournment, except by unanimous consent; and the Senator so named shall
have the right to name in open session, or if absent, in writing, a Senator to perform the duties
of the Chair, but not to extend beyond an adjournment, except by unanimous consent.”
45“Designation of Acting President Pro Tempore,” Congressional Record, vol. 112, Aug. 23,
1966, p. 20275.
46U.S. Constitution, Article I, Sec. 3.
47U.S. Congress, Senate Journal, 2nd Cong., 1st sess., p. 429.
48Senate Rule XIX(1)(a).

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CRS-12
! Appoint members to special committees, again, after initial determinations are
made by the majority and minority leaders.49
Position as Presidential Successor. In the earliest years of the nation, the
President pro tempore was not included in the order of succession, which at first
extended only as far as the Vice President. The Succession Act of 1792 designated,
after the Vice President, the President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House, in
that order.50 A later statute, the Succession Act of 1886 transferred succession after
the Vice President from the President pro tempore and the Speaker to the cabinet
officers in the chronological order in which their departments had been created.51
With the passage of the Succession Act of 1947, the President pro tempore was
restored as a successor to the presidency after the Vice President and Speaker of the
House.52
While ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967 did not supplant the order of
succession established by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, it empowered the
President to nominate a Vice President whenever that office is vacant, and rendered
it unlikely that the President pro tempore would become President except in the event
of an unprecedented national catastrophe.53
Other Duties and Responsibilities. Over the years, other powers have
also accrued to the President pro tempore. Many of these are formal or ministerial.
Decisions are first made by each party’s principal political leaders—in the Senate, the
majority and minority floor leaders—and the President pro tempore’s charge is to
implement their decisions. These include appointments to the following positions:
! Director of the Congressional Budget Office (made jointly with the Speaker
of the House);
! Senate legislative counsel and legal counsel;
! Senators to serve on trade delegations; and
! certain commissions, advisory boards, and committees, such as the boards of
visitors to the U.S. military academies; the American Folklife Center; and the
United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
49Details of these powers can be found in Senate Manual Containing the Standing Rules,
Orders, Laws and Resolutions Affecting the Business of the U.S. Senate, S.Doc. 106-1, 106th
Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2000); and Floyd M. Riddick and Alan S. Frumin,
Riddick’s Senate Procedure: Precedents and Practices, S.Doc. 101-28, 101st Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1992).
501 Stat. 240.
5124 Stat. 1.
5261 Stat 380. At the time, President Harry S. Truman argued that it was more appropriate
and democratic to have popularly elected officials first in line to succeed, rather than
appointed cabinet officers.
53CRS Report 98-731, Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession, pp. 3-6.

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CRS-13
The President pro tempore is responsible for recommending candidates to be
U.S. Comptroller General, the head of the General Accounting Office (GAO). The
President pro tempore jointly supervises, with a House officer selected by the
Speaker, the activities of the congressional page school.54
Following the recommendation of the Senate majority and minority leaders, he
appoints members of the Senate to the United States Delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.55
Under statute, the President pro tempore also makes recommendations for
membership to the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence In National
Environmental Policy Foundation, and the James Madison Memorial Fellowship
Program.56 Similarly, he makes appointments to the National Commission on Social
Security, the Social Security Advisory Board, the Advisory Council on
Unemployment Compensation, the National Commission on Children, the
Commission on International Religious Freedom, and the board of the Christopher
Columbus Fellowship Foundation.57
The President pro tempore is authorized to receive certain reports from
government offices. Examples of these include:
! a report pursuant to research efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to prevent pollution of shellfish beds;58
! an annual report pursuant to a Department of Agriculture program to improve
conservation and sustainable agriculture in Latin America and the
Caribbean;59and,

! an annual report on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs.60
After the President has submitted a report pursuant to the War Powers Act, the
President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House have the authority to request
jointly that the President convene Congress in order to consider the content of the
report and to take appropriate action.61 The President pro tempore also prepares a
report pursuant to the War Powers Resolution setting forth the circumstances,
54For the above, see Senate Manual Containing the Standing Rules ..., and Riddick and
Frumin, Riddick’s Senate Procedure ....
5522 U.S.C. 276m.
5620 U.S.C. 5603 and 20 U.S.C. 4502.
5742 U.S.C. 907a, 42 U.S.C. 903, 42 U.S.C. 1108, 42 U.S.C. 1320b-9, 22 U.S.C. 6431, and
20 U.S. C. 5702.
5833 U.S.C. 2407.
597 U.S.C. 1738(m).
6042 U.S.C. 5617.
6150 U.S.C. 1544 (a).

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CRS-14
constitutional authority, and estimated scope and duration relating to American forces
involved in foreign hostilities.62
The President pro tempore is a member of certain commissions, boards and
committees, including:
! the Senate Commission on Art;
! the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission;
! the commission to recommend individuals to be Architect of the Capitol; and
! the congressional Joint Leadership Group.63
Also, the President pro tempore works with the Secretary of the Senate and the
Sergeant at Arms of the Senate to ensure the enforcement of the rules governing the
use of the Capitol and the Senate office buildings.64
For many years the President pro tempore held the “patronage book,” as it was
called, and had considerable influence in the distribution of patronage for positions
that today are filled by professional staff. Carl Hayden of Arizona, who served as
President pro tempore from 1957 to 1969, was the last President pro tempore to
exercise this authority.65
Finally, in his history of the Senate, Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia,
who has served as President pro tempore three times since 1989, notes that: “Because
the president pro tempore stands in the line of presidential succession, he is given a
direct-access telephone to the White House and would receive special evacuation
assistance from Washington in the case of national emergency.”66
Political Influence of the Office. Senator Arthur Vandenberg, who held the
position from 1947 to 1949, was seen as one of the few Presidents pro tempore up
to that time who exerted significant political influence. Floyd M. Riddick, a scholar
of congressional procedure who later became Senate parliamentarian, wrote in 1949
that Vandenberg, who chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while serving
as President pro tempore, “took quite an important part in the legislative program and
no doubt exerted as much influence in what was done and not done as the Speaker of
the House.”67 Vandenberg, Riddick emphasized, “was firm in his rulings, of which all
but one or two stood as the decision of the Senate, even though several appeals were
6250 U.S.C. 1543.
63Senate Manual, pp., 336, 763,781,785.
64Byrd, The Senate, 1789-1989, vol. 2, p. 183.
65Ibid., p. 182.
66Ibid.
67Floyd M. Riddick, The United States Congress: Organization and Procedure (Washington:
National Capitol Publishing Co., 1949), p. 67.

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CRS-15
taken; he participated in discussions of the pending legislation from the chair, perhaps
to an unprecedented extent during any Congress of recent years ....”68
More recently, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, despite being hospitalized
for much of his term as President pro tempore (1969-1971), was seen as wielding
power “potentially equal” to that of Vandenberg through his chairmanships of the
Appropriations Committee and its Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.69
Today, the degree of political influence exerted by the President pro tempore
depends more on other factors in conjunction with a Senator’s position as President
pro tempore, than solely on election to that office. The most important of these are
a Senator’s position as a senior member of his party, and as a committee chairman.
As the most senior Senator of the majority party, his chairmanship is likely to be
significant. For example, during the years he was President pro tempore for the first
time (1989-1995), Senator Byrd was also chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
When the Senate switched from Republican to Democratic control on June 6, 2001,
Senator Byrd was elected President pro tempore and returned to chair the
Appropriations Committee. As President pro tempore, Senator Thurmond chaired
the Judiciary Committee from 1981 to 1987, and from 1995 to 1999, the Armed
Services Committee.70
As Senator Byrd has remarked, “Because of his position as a senior member of
the party, and often the chairman of a key committee, the leadership regularly consults
the president pro tempore as to his views on policies and actions of the party.”71
Republicans as well as Democrats consider the President pro tempore an ex-
officio member of the party leadership, including the respective caucus and
conference, policy committees and steering committees. In these capacities, the
President pro tempore may work closely with the party floor leader.
68Ibid.
69Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to Congress, 3rd edition (Washington: Congressional
Quarterly, Inc., 1982), p. 393.
70See S.Res. 12, adopted Jan. 7, 1999; “Senate Resolution 12–Making Majority Party
Appointments To Senate Committees for the 106th Congress,” Congressional Record, daily
edition, vol. 145, Jan. 7, 1999, p. S45.
71Sen. Robert C. Byrd, “The United States Senate: The President Pro Tempore and the Vice
President,” Congressional Record, vol. 126, May 21, 1980, p. 11910.

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CRS-16
Offices of the Deputy President Pro Tempore, the
Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore, and the
President Pro Tempore Emeritus
Office of the Deputy President Pro Tempore. On January 10, 1977, the
Senate adopted S.Res. 17, a resolution creating an office of Deputy President pro
tempore of the Senate.72 The office was created to honor Senator Hubert H.
Humphrey, a Democratic Party stalwart, who had served as both Vice President, and
a presidential candidate in 1968. Humphrey served in the Senate from 1949 to 1964
and from 1971 until his death in January 1978.
The resolution provided that “any Member of the Senate who has held the Office
of President of the United States or Vice President of the United States shall be a
Deputy President pro tempore.”73 Although the resolution did not specifically
enumerate the duties and responsibilities of the new office, the Deputy President pro
tempore was subsequently provided a staff,74 given a salary increase to the level of the
Majority Leader, and in the event of the absence of the Vice President and the
President pro tempore, authorized to preside over the Senate and sign bills as well as
resolutions without a specific authorization from the President pro tempore.75
Senator Humphrey served as Deputy President pro tempore from January 5,
1977 until his death on January 13, 1978.76 The position was next filled by Senator
George J. Mitchell, Democrat of Maine, who was appointed at the start of the 100th
Congress. The elected President pro tempore for the 100th Congress was Senator
John C. Stennis of Mississippi, the most senior Democratic Senator but in poor health.
Senate leaders were concerned that Senator Stennis’ poor health might prevent him
from fulfilling some of the responsibilities of the office, particularly the President pro
tempore’s principal responsibility for presiding over the Senate. Senator Mitchell was
appointed to assure that a presiding officer would be available all times.77 Senator
Mitchell served as Deputy President pro tempore from 1987 until he was elected
72“Establishment of the Office of Deputy President Pro Tempore of the Senate,”
Congressional Record, vol. 123, Jan. 10, 1977, p. 457.
73Ibid.
74Ibid. Staffing authority was enacted into law by P. L. 95-26, 91 Stat. 80.
75P.L. 95-26, 91 Stat. 79.
76Although the resolution establishing the Office of the Deputy President pro tempore (S.Res.
27) was approved on Jan. 11, 1977, the effective date was Jan. 5, 1977. “Senate Resolution
27—Electing a Deputy President Pro Tempore of the Senate,” Congressional Record, vol.
123, Jan. 11, 1977, p. 756.
77Interview with Donald A. Ritchie, associate historian, Senate Historical Office, Jan. 2, 2001.

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CRS-17
Majority Leader for the 101st Congress on November 29, 1988.78 The position has
not been filled since that date.
Office of the Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore. In early
1963, the Senate began debate on what became the landmark Civil Rights Act of
1964. The President pro tempore at the time was Carl T. Hayden of Arizona, then
86 years old. Early on, Majority Leader Michael J. (Mike) Mansfield of Montana
expressed concern about Hayden’s age and physical stamina during what was likely
to be a long and difficult debate. In February 1963, Mansfield told a group of visitors
that should a round-the-clock filibuster develop, as it eventually did, he did not want
to be responsible for the elderly Hayden’s demise.79 Subsequently, in a series of
resolutions introduced by Mansfield beginning in June 1963, Senator Lee W. Metcalf
of Montana was named acting President pro tempore.80 Before his designation,
Metcalf was one of a regular group of Senators serving in rotation as presiding
officer.
Mansfield chose Metcalf for several reasons. Metcalf was relatively young and
vigorous; he lived in an apartment across the street from the Senate and could be
called quickly to preside over late night sessions. As Mansfield’s junior colleague
from Montana, he was trustworthy and unlikely to rule against the majority floor
leader.81
On February 7, 1964, the Senate approved a resolution, S.Res. 296, which
authorized Senator Metcalf to be “Acting President pro tempore until otherwise
ordered by the Senate.” On March 31, more than two months before cloture on the
civil rights bill was finally invoked, but after a strenuous period of parliamentary
maneuvering, Senator Mansfield spoke on the floor of Senator Metcalf’s role as
presiding officer:
78 Senator Mitchell was recommended for the position of Deputy President pro tempore by
Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd. See Byrd, The Senate 1789-1989, vol. 2, p. 182. See also,
S.Res. 90, and S.Res 91, adopted Jan. 28, 1987 (Senator Robert C. Byrd, “Designation of A
Deputy President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Designation of Senator George S. Mitchell
As Deputy President Pro Tempore of The Senate,” Congressional Record, vol. 133, Jan. 28,
1987, pp. 2167-2168).
79Charles Whalen and Barbara Whalen, The Longest Debate; A Legislative History of the
1964 Civil Rights Act (Washington: Seven Locks Press, 1985), p. 129.
80See the following resolutions: S.Res. 155, adopted June 10, 1963 (Senator Mike Mansfield,
“Continuation of Authority of Acting President Pro Tempore Beyond Adjournment of Senate
Today,” Congressional Record, vol. 109. June 10, 1963, p. 10444); S.Res. 232, adopted Dec.
9, 1963 (Senator Mike Mansfield, “Designation of Senator Metcalf As Acting President Pro
Tempore During the Remainder of the Present Session of the Congress,” Congressional
Record, vol. 109, Dec. 9, 1963, p. 23754); S.Res. 238, adopted Dec. 20, 1963 (Senator Mike
Mansfield, “To Continue Authority of Acting President Pro Tempore Until Next Session of
Congress,” Congressional Record, vol. 109, Dec. 20, 1963, pp. 25254-25255); and S.Res.
296, adopted Feb. 7, 1964 (Senator Mike Mansfield, “Designation of Senator Metcalf As
Acting President Pro Tempore,” Congressional Record, vol. 110, Feb. 7, 1964, p. 2401).
81Interview with Donald A. Ritchie, associate historian, Senate Historical Office, July 28,
2000; and Whalen, The Longest Debate, pp. 126, 199.

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CRS-18
The role of the Presiding Officer of the U.S. Senate has had its ups and downs in
the history of this legislative body. In recent years, and more particularly in recent
weeks, the Presiding Officer has assumed a position of renewed importance. The
man most responsible for this new role is my distinguished colleague from
Montana, Senator Metcalf.
Senator Metcalf, in his role as Acting President pro tempore, brings vigor, [and]
knowledge of the legislative process to a position which all too often is looked
upon as a chore.82
Senator Metcalf served as Permanent Acting President pro tempore and presided
frequently over the Senate in that capacity until his death in January 1978.83 The
office has not been filled since then.
Office of the President Pro Tempore Emeritus. In May 2001, Senator
James Jeffords of Vermont changed his party affiliation from Republican to
Independent, and the Senate, until then evenly divided (and operating under a series
of formal and informal power sharing agreements), switched to Democratic control.
On June 6, the Senate elected Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, to be the
President pro tempore.84 At the same time, Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican of
South Carolina, who had served as President pro tempore since January 20, 2001,
was elected President pro tempore Emeritus.85
82“Senator Metcalf—A Strong Presiding Officer,” Congressional Record, vol. 110, March
31, 1964, p. 6609.
83Interview with Donald A. Ritchie, associate historian, Senate Historical Office, Jan. 2, 2001.
84See S.Res. 100, adopted June 6, 2001. “Election of the Honorable Robert C. Byrd as
President Pro Tempore,” Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 147, p. S5843.
85See. S.Res. 103, adopted June 6, 2001. “Thanking and Electing Strom Thurmond President
Pro Tempore Emeritus,” Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 147, S5844.

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CRS-19
Table 1: Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1789-2001
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
John Langdon
Pro-Admin/
NH
1st
April 6, 1789
Anti-Admin/
R(DR)
Richard Henry Lee
Anti-Admin
VA
2nd
April 18, 1792
John Langdon
Pro-Admin/
NH
2nd
November 5, 1792
Anti-Admin/
R(DR)
John Langdon
NH
2nd
March 1, 1793
Ralph Izard
Pro-Admin
SC
3rd
May 31, 1794
Henry Tazewell
Anti-Admin/
VA
3rd
February 20, 1795
R(DR)
Henry Tazewell
VA
4th
December 7, 1795
Samuel Livermore
Pro-Admin/F
NH
4th
May 6, 1796
William Bingham
F
PA
4th
February 16, 1797
William Bradford
Pro-Admin/F
RI
5th
July 6, 1797
Jacob Read
F
SC
5th
November 22, 1797
Theodore Sedgwick
F
MA
5th
June 27, 1789
John Laurance
F
NY
5th
December 6, 1789
James Ross
Pro-Admin/F
PA
5th
March 1, 1799
Samuel Livermore
Pro-Admin/F
NH
6th
December 22, 1799
Uriah Tracy
F
CT
6th
May 14, 1800
John E. Howard
F
MD
6th
November 21, 1800
James Hillhouse
F
CT
6th
February 28, 1801
Abraham Baldwin
R
GA
7th
December 7, 1801
Stephen R. Bradley
Anti-Admin/
VT
7th
December 14, 1802
R(DR)
Stephen R. Bradley
VT
7th
February 25, 1803
Stephen R. Bradley
VT
7th
March 2, 1803
John Brown
Anti-Admin
KY
8th
October 17, 1803
John Brown
Anti-Admin
KY
8th
January 23, 1804
Jesse Franklin
R(DR)
NC
8th
March 10, 1804

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CRS-20
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
Joseph Anderson
R(DR)
TN
8th
January 15, 1805
Joseph Anderson
R(DR)
TN
8th
February 28, 1805
Joseph Anderson
R(DR)
TN
8th
March 2, 1805
Samuel Smith
R(DR)/J
MD
9th
December 2, 1805
Samuel Smith
MD
9th
March 18, 1806
Samuel Smith
MD
9th
March 2, 1807
Samuel Smith
MD
10th
April 16, 1808
Stephen R. Bradley
Anti-Admin/
VT
10th
December 28, 1808
R(DR)
John Milledge
R(DR)
GA
10th
January 30, 1809
Andrew Gregg
R(DR)
PA
11th
June 26, 1809
John Gaillard
R(DR)/J
SC
11th
February 28, 1810
John Gaillard
SC
11th
April 17, 1810
John Pope
R(DR)
KY
11th
February 23, 1811
William H. Crawford
R(DR)
GA
12th
March 24, 1812
Joseph B. Varnum
R(DR)
MA
13th
December 6, 1813
John Gaillard
R(DR)/J
SC
13th
April 18, 1814
John Gaillard
SC
13th
November 25, 1814b
John Gaillard
SC
14th
[no election]
John Gaillard
SC
15th
March 6, 1817
John Gaillard
SC
15th
March 31, 1918
James Barbour
R(DR)
VA
15th
February 15, 1819
James Barbour
VA
16th
[no election]
John Gaillard
R(DR)/J
SC
16th
January 25, 1820
John Gaillard
SC
17th
February 1, 1822
John Gaillard
SC
17th
February 19, 1823
John Gaillard
SC
18th
May 21, 1824
John Gaillard
SC
19th
March 9, 1825
Nathaniel Macon
R(DR)/J
NC
19th
May 20, 1826
Nathaniel Macon
NC
19th
January 2, 1827

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CRS-21
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
Nathaniel Macon
NC
19th
March 2, 1827
Samuel Smith
R(DR)/J
MD
20th
May 15, 1828
Samuel Smith
MD
21st
March 13, 1829
Samuel Smith
MD
21st
May 29, 1830
Samuel Smith
MD
21st
March 1, 1831
Littleton Tazewell
JR/J
VA
22nd
July 9, 1832
Hugh L. White
J/AJ/W
TN
22nd
December 3, 1832
Hugh L. White
TN
23rd
[no election]
George Poindexter
J/AJ
MS
23rd
June 28, 1834
John Tyler
J/AJ
VA
23rd
March 3, 1835
William R. King
R(DR)J/D
AL
24th
July 1, 1836
William R. King
AL
24th
January 28, 1837
William R. King
AL
25th
March 7, 1837
William R. King
AL
25th
October 13, 1837
William R. King
AL
25th
July 2, 1838
William R. King
AL
25th
February 25, 1839
William R. King
AL
26th
July 3, 1840
William R. King
AL
26th
March 3, 1841
William R. King
AL
27th
March 4, 1841
Samuel Southard
R(DR)W
NJ
27th
March 11, 1841
Willie P. Mangum
J/AJ/W
NC
27th
May 31, 1842
Willie P. Mangum
NC
28th
[no election]
Ambrose H. Sevier
J/D
AR
29th
December 27, 1845 c
David R. Atchison
D
MO
29th
August 8, 1846
David R. Atchison
D
MO
29th
January 11, 1847
David R. Atchison
D
MO
29th
March 3, 1847
David R. Atchison
D
MO
30th
February 2, 1848
David R. Atchison
D
MO
30th
June 1, 1848
David R. Atchison
D
MO
30th
June 26, 1848

---

CRS-22
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
David R. Atchison
D
MO
30th
July 29, 1848
David R. Atchison
D
MO
30th
December 26, 1848
David R. Atchison
D
MO
30th
March 2, 1849
David R. Atchison
D
MO
31st
March 5, 1849
David R. Atchison
D
MO
31st
March 16, 1849
William R. King
R(DR)J/D
AL
31st
May 6, 1850
William R. King
AL
31st
July 11, 1850
William R. King
AL
32nd
[no election]
David R. Atchison
D
MO
32nd
December 20, 1852
David R. Atchison
D
MO
33rd
March 4, 1853
Lewis Cass
D
MI
33rd
December 4, 1854
Jesse D. Bright
D
IN
33rd
December 5, 1854
Jesse D. Bright
D
IN
34th
June 11, 1856
Charles E. Stuart
D
MI
34th
June 9, 1856
James M. Mason
D
VA
34th
January 6, 1857
James M. Mason
D
VA
35th
March 4, 1857
Thomas J. Rusk
D
TX
35th
March 14, 1857
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
35th
December 7, 1857
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
35th
March 29, 1858
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
35th
June 14, 1858
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
35th
January 25, 1858
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
36th
March 9, 1859
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
36th
December 19, 1859
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
36th
February 20, 1860
Jesse D. Bright
D
IN
36th
June 12, 1860
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
D
AL
36th
June 26, 1860
Solomon Foot
W/OP/R
VT
36th
February 16, 1861
Solomon Foot
VT
37th
March 23, 1861
Solomon Foot
VT
37th
July 18, 1861

---

CRS-23
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
Solomon Foot
VT
37th
January 15, 1862
Solomon Foot
VT
37th
March 31, 1862
Solomon Foot
VT
37th
June 19, 1862
Solomon Foot
VT
37th
February 18, 1863
Solomon Foot
VT
38th
March 4, 1863
Solomon Foot
VT
38th
December 18, 1863
Solomon Foot
VT
38th
February 23, 1864
Solomon Foot
VT
38th
April 11, 1864
Daniel Clark
R
NH
38th
April 26, 1864
Daniel Clark
R
NH
38th
February 9, 1865
Lafayette S. Foster
OP/R
CT
39th
March 7, 1865
Benjamin F. Wade
W/OP/R
OH
39th
March 2, 1867
Benjamin F. Wade
OH
40th
[no election]
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
41st
March 23, 1869
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
41st
April 9, 1869
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
41st
May 28, 1870
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
41st
July 1, 1870
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
41st
July 14, 1870
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
March 10, 1871
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
April 17, 1871
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
May 23, 1871
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
December 21, 1871
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
February 23, 1872
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
June 8, 1872
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
December 4, 1872
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
December 13, 1872
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
December 20, 1872
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
42nd
January 24, 1873
Matthew H. Carpenter
R
WI
43rd
March 12, 1873

---

CRS-24
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
Matthew H. Carpenter
R
WI
43rd
March 26, 1873
Matthew H. Carpenter
R
WI
43rd
December 11, 1873
Matthew H. Carpenter
R
WI
43rd
December 23, 1874
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
43rd
January 25, 1875
Henry B. Anthony
R
RI
43rd
February 15, 1875
Thomas W. Ferry
R
MI
44th
March 9, 1875
Thomas W. Ferry
R
MI
44th
March 19, 1875
Thomas W. Ferry
R
MI
44th
December 20, 1875
Thomas W. Ferry
R
MI
45th
March 5, 1877
Thomas W. Ferry
R
MI
45th
February 26, 1878
Thomas W. Ferry
R
MI
45th
April 17, 1878
Thomas W. Ferry
R
MI
45th
March 3, 1879
Allen G. Thurman
D
OH
46th
April 15, 1879
Allen G. Thurman
D
OH
46th
April 7, 1880
Allen G. Thurman
D
OH
46th
May 6, 1880
Thomas F. Bayard, Sr.
D
DE
47th
October 10, 1881
David Davis
I
IL
47th
October 13, 1881
George F. Edmonds
R
VT
47th
March 3, 1883
George F. Edmonds
R
VT
48th
January 14, 1884
John Sherman
R
OH
49th
December 7, 1885
John J. Ingalls
R
KS
49th
February 25, 1887
John J. Ingalls
R
KS
50th
[no election]
John J. Ingalls
R
KS
51st
March 7, 1889
John J. Ingalls
R
KS
51st
April 2, 1889
John J. Ingalls
R
KS
51st
February 28, 1890
John J. Ingalls
R
KS
51st
April 3, 1890 d
Charles F. Manderson
R
NE
51st
March 2, 1891
Charles F. Manderson
R
NE
52nd
[no election]
Charles F. Manderson
R
NE
53rd
[no election]

---

CRS-25
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
Isham G. Harris
D
TN
53rd
March 22, 1893
Matt W. Ransom
D
NC
53rd
January 7, 1895
Isham G. Harris
D
TN
53rd
January 10, 1895
William P. Frye
R
ME
54th
February 7, 1896
William P. Frye
R
ME
55th
[no election]
William P. Frye
R
ME
56th
[no election]
William P. Frye
R
ME
57th
March 7, 1901
William P. Frye
R
ME
58th
[no election]
William P. Frye
R
ME
59th
[no election]
William P. Frye
R
ME
60th
December 5, 1907
William P. Frye
R
ME
61st
[no election]
William P. Frye
R
ME
62nd
[no election]
Charles Curtis
R
KS
62nd
December 4, 1911
Augustus O. Bacon
D
GA
62nd
January 15, 1912
Jacob H. Gallinger
R
NH
62nd
February 12, 1912
Henry Cabot Lodge
R
MA
62nd
March 25, 1912
Frank B. Brandegee
R
CT
62nd
May 25, 1912
James P. Clarke
D
AR
63rd
March 13, 1913
James P. Clarke
D
AR
64th
December 6, 1915
Willard Saulsbury, Jr.
D
DE
64th
December 14, 1916
Willard Saulsbury, Jr.
D
DE
65th
[no election]
Albert B. Cummins
R
IA
66th
May 19, 1919
Albert B. Cummins
R
IA
67th
March 7, 1921
Albert B. Cummins
R
IA
68th
[no election]
Albert B. Cummins
R
IA
69th
[no election]
George H. Moses
R
NH
69th
March 6, 1925
George H. Moses
R
NH
70th
December 15, 1927
George H. Moses
R
NH
71st
[no election]
George H. Moses
R
NH
72nd
[no election]

---

CRS-26
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
Key Pittman
D
NV
73rd
March 9, 1933
Key Pittman
D
NV
74th
January 7, 1935
Key Pittman
D
NV
75th
[no election]
Key Pittman
D
NV
76th
[no election]
William H. King
D
UT
76th
November 19, 1940
Pat Harrison
D
MS
77th
January 6, 1941
Carter Glass
D
VA
77th
July 10, 1941
Carter Glass
D
VA
78th
January 5, 1943
Kenneth D. McKellar
D
TN
79th
January 6, 1945
Arthur Vandenberg
R
MI
80th
January 4, 1947
Kenneth D. McKellar
D
TN
81st
January 3, 1949
Kenneth D. McKellar
D
TN
82nd
[no election]
Styles Bridges
R
NH
83rd
January 3, 1953
Walter F. George
D
GA
84th
January 5, 1955
Carl T. Hayden
D
AZ
85th
January 3, 1957
Carl T. Hayden
D
AZ
86th
[no election]
Carl T. Hayden
D
AZ
87th
[no election]
Carl T. Hayden
D
AZ
88th
[no election]
Carl T. Hayden
D
AZ
89th
[no election]
Carl T. Hayden
D
AZ
90th
[no election]
Richard B. Russell, Jr.
D
GA
91st
January 3, 1969
Richard B. Russell, Jr.
D
GA
92nd
[no election]
Allen J. Ellender
D
LA
92nd
January 22, 1971
James O. Eastland
D
MS
92nd
July 28, 1972
James O. Eastland
D
MS
93rd
[no election]
James O. Eastland
D
MS
94th
[no election]
James O. Eastland
D
MS
95th
[no election]
Warren G. Magnuson
D
WA
96th
January 15, 1979
Milton R. Young
R
ND
96th
December 4, 1980e

---

CRS-27
Name
Party a
State
Congress
Date Elected
Strom Thurmond
ID/D/R
SC
97th
January 5, 1981
Strom Thurmond
SC
98th
[no election]
Strom Thurmond
SC
99th
[no election]
John C. Stennis
D
MS
100th
January 6, 1987
Robert C. Byrd
D
WV
101st
January 3, 1989
Robert C. Byrd
D
WV
102nd
[no election]
Robert C. Byrd
D
WV
103rd
[no election]
Strom Thurmond
R
SC
104th
January 4, 1995
Strom Thurmond
R
SC
105th
[no election]
Strom Thurmond
R
SC
106th
[no election]
Robert C. Byrd
D
WV
107th
January 3, 2001 -
January 20, 2001
Strom Thurmond
R
SC
107th
January 20, 2001-
June 6, 2001
Robert C. Byrd
D
WV
107th
June 6, 2001
Note: The principal source for this table is Byrd’s Historical Statistics, pp. 647-653. Until 1890,
the Senate elected a President pro tempore whenever the Vice President was not in attendance,
whether for a day, or permanently, as in the case of the Vice President’s death or resignation. When
the Vice President returned, the President pro tempore lost his place. Then, when the Vice President
was again absent, the Senate again elected a President pro tempore, in many cases the same Senator
who had been chosen before. By the standing order agreed to on March 12, 1890, the Senate
declared that the President pro tempore shall hold the office during “the pleasure of the Senate and
until another is elected, and shall execute the duties thereof during all future absences of the Vice
President until the Senate does otherwise order.”
a A key to party abbreviations can be found in the Appendix.
b Gaillard was elected after the death of Vice President Elbridge Gerry and continued to serve
throughout the 14th Congress, as there was no vice president.
c There was no actual election. Sevier was “permitted to occupy the chair for the day.” Gamm and
Smith differ with respect to Sevier’s service. See Gamm and Smith, “Last Among Equals,”
“Table 1: Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate.”
d As noted above, in March 1890, the Senate adopted a resolution stating that Presidents pro tempore
would hold office continuously until the election of another President pro tempore, rather than
being elected only for the period in which the Vice President was absent. That system has
continued to the present.
e Senator Young was elected to serve but the single day of December 4, 1980.

---

CRS-28
Table 2: Deputy Presidents Pro Tempore
of the Senate, 1977-2001
Deputy President
Party-State
Congress
Dates
Pro Tempore
Hubert H. Humphrey a
D-MN
95th
January 5, 1977-
January 13, 1978
George J. Mitchell b
D-ME
100th
January 28, 1987-
November 29,
1988c
a Pursuant to S.Res. 17, agreed to January 10, 1977, the Senate established (effective January 5,
1977) the post of Deputy President pro tempore of the Senate to be held by “any Member of
the Senate who has held the Office of President of the United States or Vice President of the
United States.” Senator Humphrey held this position until his death on January 13, 1978.
b On January 28, 1987, the Senate agreed to S.Res. 90, authorizing the Senate to designate a Senator
to serve as Deputy President pro tempore during the 100th Congress, in addition to Senators
who hold such office under the authority of S.Res. 17, 95th Congress. Accordingly, on the
same date the Senate agreed to S.Res. 91, designating Senator George J. Mitchell Deputy
President pro tempore.
c On November 29, 1988, Senator Mitchell was elected Majority Leader for the 101st Congress.
Table 3: Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore
of the Senate, 1964-2001
Congress
Name
State
Elected
88th-95th
Lee W. Metcalf a
Montana
February 7, 1964
Note: This office was initially established in 1963 upon the adoption of S.Res. 232 and S.Res. 238
making Senator Metcalf Acting President pro tempore from December 9, 1963, until the meeting of
the second regular session of the 88th Congress. When the position of Vice President became vacant
upon the death of President John F. Kennedy, the added constitutional responsibilities imposed on
then-President pro tempore Carl Hayden moved the Senate to agree on February 7, 1964 to S.Res.
296, authorizing Senator Metcalf “to perform the duties of the Chair as Acting President Pro
Tempore until otherwise ordered by the Senate.” Senator Metcalf continued to hold the post
throughout his remaining 14 years in the Senate.
a Died January 12, 1978.
Table 4: President Pro Tempore Emeritus
of the Senate, 2001 -
Congress
Name
State
Elected
107th
Strom Thurmond
SC
June 6, 2001a

a Elected pursuant to S.Res. 103, adopted June 6, 2001. See “Thanking and Electing Strom
Thurmond President Pro Tempore Emeritus,” Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 147, p.
S5844.

---

CRS-29
Appendix: Political Party Abbreviations
Adams
Adams
Adams-Clay F
Adams-Clay Federalist
Adams-Clay R
Adams-Clay Republican
AJ
Anti-Jackson
Am
American (Know-Nothing)
Anti-Admin
Anti-Administration
C
Conservative
CRR
Crawford Republican
D
Democrat
F
Federalist
FL
Farmer-Labor
FS
Free Soil
I
Independent
ID
Independent Democrat
IR
Independent Republican
J
Jacksonian
JR
Jacksonian Republican
L
Liberty
LR
Liberal Republican
N
Nullifier
N/A
Party Unknown or No Party Affiliation
NR
National Republican
OP
Opposition
PO
Populist
PR
Progressive
Pro-Admin
Pro-Administration
R
Republican
R(DR)*
Jeffersonian, Jeffersonian Republican, or
Democratic Republican
RA
Readjuster
S
Silver
SR
Silver Republican
U
Unionist
UU
Unconditional Unionist
W
Whig
Note: The table is derived from Robert C. Byrd, The Senate, 1789-1989, A U.S.
Senate Bicentennial publication, S. Doc. 100-20, 100th Cong., 1st sess.,
(Washington: GPO, 1993), vol. 4, Historical Statistics, 1789-1992, p. xiii.
* Although the Biographical Directory of the American Congress identifies the
party affiliation of certain Representatives in early Congresses as Republicans, the
designation “Democratic Republican” is more familiar to readers. This
designation, R(DR), should not be confused with the contemporary Republican
Party which did not emerge until the 1850s.

---

CRS-30
Selected References
Berdahl, Clarence, “Some Notes on Party Membership in Congress,” American
Political Science Review, vol. 43, April 1949: 309-332; June 1949: 492-508;
and August 1949: 721-734.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1996 (Washington: CQ
Staff Directories Inc., 1997), 2108 pp.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to the Present.
Available online at [http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp]
Byrd, Robert C., The Senate, 1789-1989, S.Doc. 100-20, 100th Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO, 1988), vol. 1, Addresses on the History of the United
States Senate, 800 pp.
Byrd, Robert C., The Senate, 1798-1989, S.Doc. 100-20, 100th Cong., 1st sess.
(Washington: GPO. 1993), vol. 4, Historical Statistics, 1789-1992, 739 pp.
Gamm, Gerald, and Steven S. Smith, “Last Among Equals: The Senate’s Presiding
Officer.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political
Science Association, (Boston MA, September 3-6, 1998), 37 pp.
“The Great Senate Deadlock: 1881.” Senate History, no. 9, July 1984: 1, 9-10.
An updated version of this article may be found at
[http://www.senate.gov/learning/brief_23.html].
Haynes, George H., “The Senate’s President Pro Tempore,” The Senate of the United
States: Its History and Practice, (New York: Russell & Russell, 1960
[c1938]), pp. 249-259.
Journal of the Senate of the United States, 1789-present, various publishers.
Senate Manual, a document compiled by the Senate Committee on Rules and
Administration. The most recent edition is Senate Document No. 106-1, 106th
Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2000), 1196 pp.
Tiefer, Charles. “Vice President and President Pro Tempore.” Congressional
Practice and Procedure: A Reference, Research, and Legislative Guide.
(New York: Greenwood Press, 1989), pp. 490-495.
U.S. Congress, Senate, “President Pro Tempore.” Riddick’s Senate Procedure:
Precedents and Practices. Edited by Floyd M. Riddick, and Alan S. Frumin.
S.Doc. 101-28, 101st Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 1992), pp. 1019-
1024.
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, Election of President
Pro Tempore of the Senate, S.Rept. 62-30, 62nd Cong., 1st sess. (Washington:
GPO, 1911), 29 pp.

---

CRS-31
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, President of the
Senate Pro Tempore; Proceedings in the United States Senate from April 6,
1789, to December 5, 1911, Relating to the Election, Powers, Duties, and
Tenure in Office of the President of the Senate Pro Tempore, committee
print, 62nd Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 1911), 255 pp.
CRS Products
CRS Report RL30567. Party Leaders in Congress, 1789-2000: Vital Statistics, by
Richard C. Sachs. Updated February 2, 2001, 35 pp.
CRS Report 98-731. Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession, by Thomas H.
Neale. August 21, 1998, 6 pp.

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