Order Code RL30567
Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Party Leaders in Congress,
1789-2003: Vital Statistics
Updated January 22, 2003
Paul S. Rundquist and Richard C. Sachs
Specialists in American National Government
Faye M. Bullock
Technical Information Specialist
Government and Finance Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Party Leaders in Congress, 1789-2003:
Vital Statistics
Summary
This report presents tables that provide historical data, including service dates,
party affiliation, and other information, for 15 House and Senate party leadership
posts. This information has been updated to reflect leadership changes in the 107th
Congress, as of its issuance date. The report will be updated, as changes in House
and Senate party leadership positions occur.
Although party divisions appeared almost from the First Congress, the formally
structured party leadership organizations now taken for granted are a relatively
modern development. Constitutionally-specified leaders, namely the Speaker of the
House and the President pro tempore of the Senate, can be identified since the first
Congress. Other leadership posts, however, were not officially recognized until
about the middle of the 19th century, and some are 20th century creations.
The Senate was slower than the House to develop a separate, identifiable party
leadership. Records of party conferences in the 19th century Senate are not available.
Memoirs and other secondary sources reveal the identities of party conference or
caucus chairmen for some, but not all, Congresses after about 1850; but these posts
carried very little authority. It was not uncommon for Senators to publicly declare
that within the Senate parties, there was no single leader. Rather, through the turn
of the 20th century, individuals who led the Senate achieved their position through
recognized personal attributes, including persuasion and oratorical skills, rather than
election or appointment to official leadership posts.
The development of Senate party floor leaders was, like in the House, one of
slow evolution, linked for the most part to the post of conference chairman. Not until
1945 did Senate Republicans specify that the conference chairmanship and floor
leader posts must be held by separate Senators. Among Senate Democrats, the floor
leader is also chairman of the conference.
The tables in this report do not list all Senators and Representatives who have
held all leadership posts. Some leadership posts are excluded in order to provide a
manageable amount of data. An appendix explains the abbreviations used to denote
political parties. This report will be updated when leadership changes occur.

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Contents
Introduction and Methodological Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Leadership Posts Excluded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Appendix: Political Party Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Source Notes and Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
List of Tables
Table 1. Speakers of the House of Representatives, 1789-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Table 2: House Democratic Floor Leaders, 1899-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table 3: House Republican Floor Leaders, 1899-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Table 4: House Democratic Whips, 1901-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Table 5: House Republican Whips, 1897-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Table 6: House Democratic Caucus Chairmen, 1849-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Table 7: House Republican Conference Chairmen, 1863-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Table 8: Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1789-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Table 9: Deputy Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1977-2003 . . . . . . . . . 27
Table 10: Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore of the Senate,
1964-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Table 11: Senate Democratic Floor Leaders and Conference Chairmen,
1903-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Table 12: Senate Republican Floor Leaders, 1911-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Table 13: Senate Republican Conference Chairmen, 1893-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Table 14: Senate Democratic Whips, 1913-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Table 15: Senate Republican Whips, 1915-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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Party Leaders in Congress, 1789-2003:
Vital Statistics
Introduction and Methodological Notes
The 15 tables herein provide data on service dates, party affiliation, and other
information for the following House and Senate party leadership posts:
1.
Speakers of the House of Representatives, 1789-2003
2.
House Democratic Floor Leaders, 1899-2003
3.
House Republican Floor Leaders, 1897-2003
4.
House Democratic Whips, 1901-2003
5.
House Republican Whips, 1897-2003
6.
House Democratic Caucus Chairmen, 1849-2003
7.
House Republican Conference Chairmen, 1863-2003
8.
Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1789-2003
9.
Deputy Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1977-2003
10.
Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1964-2003
11.
Senate Democratic Floor Leaders and Conference Chairmen, 1903-
2003
12.
Senate Republican Floor Leaders, 1925-2003
13.
Senate Republican Conference Chairmen, 1897-2003
14.
Senate Democratic Whips, 1913-2003
15.
Senate Republican Whips, 1915-2003
This information is current through the initial leadership elections and
appointments made for the 108th Congress.
Although party divisions sprang up almost from the First Congress, the formally
structured party leadership organizations now taken for granted are a relatively
modern development. Constitutionally-specified leaders, namely the Speaker of the
House and the President pro tempore of the Senate, can be identified since the first
Congress. Other leadership posts, however, were not officially recognized until
about the middle of the 19th century, and some are 20th century creations. The
following tables identify 15 different party leadership posts beginning with the year
when each is generally regarded to have been formally established.
Included for each post are leaders’ names, party and state affiliations, and dates
and Congresses of service. For most Congresses, the report indicates years of
service, rather than specific dates of service. However, when a Member died while
holding a leadership office, the date of death is included as the end of service date.
Beginning with the 100th Congress, exact dates of service are indicated in cases
where a leadership change occurs during the course of a Congress. With respect to
length of service, the report includes all Congresses in which a Member held a

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particular leadership post, regardless of whether the Member held the post for the
entire Congress or only a portion of it.
Official congressional documents (House Journal and Senate Journal,
Congressional Record, and predecessor publications) can be used to document the
tenure of the constitutionally-specified leaders. However, the actions of the party
organizations in choosing other leaders, such as floor leaders, whips, or caucus or
conference chairmen, frequently went unacknowledged in these sources. In the
frequent absence of party caucus records in the latter half of the 19th century, scholars
have had to rely on secondary sources, such as memoirs and correspondence, for
evidence of party leadership position-holding.
Other problems are caused by the changing nature of congressional leadership.
For example, it was the common practice of President Thomas Jefferson and his
immediate successors to designate a member of the House as their principal
legislative spokesman. Often these spokesmen held no other formal leadership
position in the House, and Presidents frequently designated new spokesmen, or even
specialized spokesmen for individual measures, as their terms progressed. As these,
and other, “leaders” were not chosen by a congressional party group or by a party
leader such as the Speaker, these presidential designees have not been included here
as “party leaders.”
Most historians who study the 19th century House acknowledge that an informal
“positional leadership” system emerged possibly as early as the “War Hawk”
Congress (1811-1813) under Speaker Henry Clay. Under this system, the
Speaker—who at the time designated the chairmen of the standing
committees—would name his principal lieutenant to be chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee. After the Appropriations Committee was split from the Ways
and Means Committee in 1865, the Speaker’s principal floor lieutenant received
either of these chairmanships. Sometimes, the Speaker chose a rival for the
speakership to chair one of these committees in an effort to resolve intra-party
disputes.
It is somewhat inaccurate, however, to consider these early floor leaders to be
majority leaders in the modern sense, and they have not been included here. The
position of chairman of the Appropriations or Ways and Means Committee inevitably
made the incumbent a powerful congressional figure because of the important
legislation reported from these committees. However, these chairmen were not
chosen by the full party organization, as the majority or minority House leaders are
now. Furthermore, other leading congressional figures, such as the Republican leader
Thomas Brackett Reed, achieved their positional influence within the House by
service on other committees, such as—in Reed’s case—the post-1880 Rules
Committee.
The Senate was later than the House in developing a separate, identifiable party
leadership. The few existing records of party conferences in the 19th century Senate
are held in private collections. Memoirs and other secondary sources reveal the
identities of party conference or caucus chairmen for some, but not all, Congresses
after about 1850; these posts, however, carried very little authority. It was not
uncommon for Senators to publicly declare that within the Senate parties there was

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no single leader. Rather, through the turn of the 20th century, individuals who led the
Senate achieved their position through recognized personal attributes, including
persuasion and oratory skills, rather than election or appointment to official
leadership posts.
The development of Senate party floor leaders was, like in the House, one of
slow evolution, linked for the most part to the post of conference chairman. Not until
1945 did Senate Republicans specify that the conference chairmanship and floor
leader posts must be held by separate Senators. Among Senate Democrats, the floor
leader is also chairman of the conference. In many secondary sources, Senators are
identified as “floor leaders” before existing party conference records so identify
them. In this report, footnotes to the tables attempt to clarify when a leader was
identified through official sources such as caucus minutes or identified through
secondary sources.
Another problem in identifying party leaders in early Congresses is the matter
of party affiliation. Secondary sources reporting on party leaders often relied upon
the information compiled in early editions of the Biographical Directory of the
United States Congress. As the editors of the 1989 edition of the Biographical
Directory noted:
The most serious source of error and confusion in previous editions [of the
Biographical Directory] were [sic] the designations of party affiliation. Many
of the party labels added to the editions of 1913 and 1928 were anachronistic,
claiming for the two modern parties Senators and Representatives elected to
Congress before the [modern] Democratic or Republican parties existed. Other
entries ignored the frequent shifts in party affiliation during the nineteenth
century or omitted reference to short-lived and regional political parties and thus
failed to reflect the vigor and diversity of nineteenth-century politics.1
The 1989 and 1997 editions of the Biographical Directory resolved these differences,
and their designations of party affiliations are principal sources for this report. The
1997 edition of the Biographical Directory, in particular, included more complete
notations where Members changed their party affiliations while serving in Congress.2
The main source for early party affiliations of Senators, principally Presidents Pro
Tempore, is volume four of Senator Robert C. Byrd’s The Senate, 1789-1989.
(Historical Statistics, 1789-1992).3
1U.S. Congress, Senate, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-1989:
the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and The Congress of the
United States, from the First through the One Hundredth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to
January 3, 1989, inclusive, Bicentennial edition, S. Doc. 100-34, 100th Congress, 2nd session
(Washington: GPO, 1989), p. 3.
2Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Washington: CQ Staff
Directories, Inc., 1997), p. xi. This commercially published edition of the Biographical
Directory is a continuation of earlier, publicly published editions. An online, updated,
version is also available at [http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp].
3Robert C. Byrd, The Senate, 1789-1989, A U.S. Senate Bicentennial publication, S. Doc.
100-20, 100th Congress, 1st session (Washington: GPO, 1993), vol. 4, Historical
(continued...)

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An appendix explains the abbreviations used to denote party affiliations in this
report.
Leadership Posts Excluded
The tables in this report do not list all Senators and Representatives who have
held all leadership posts. Some leadership posts are excluded in order to provide a
manageable amount of data. Excluded from this report are the Senate and House
party conference secretaries, and the chairs of such party committees as steering
committees, policy committees, committees on committees, and campaign
committees. Junior party whips are not identified. At least since the 1930s in the
House, both parties have selected (or allowed the principal whip to designate)
subordinate whips. The lack of adequate records makes it almost impossible to
identify all deputy whips, regional whips, and zone whips who have been appointed
in the last 70 years.
Table 1. Speakers of the House of Representatives, 1789-2003
Speaker
Party/State
Congress
Dates
Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg
N/A–PA
1st
April 1, 1789-
March 3, 1791
Jonathan Trumbull
N/A–CT
2nd October
24,1791-
March 3, 1793
Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg
N/A–PA
3rd December
2,1793-
March 3, 1795
Jonathan Dayton
N/A–NJ
4th-5th December
7,1795-
March 3, 1799
Theodore Sedgwick
N/A–MA
6th December
2,1799-
March 3, 1801
Nathaniel Macon
N/A–NC
7th-9th
December 7,1801-
March 3, 1807
Joseph B. Varnum
N/A–MA
10th-11th
October 26, 1807-
March 3, 1811
Henry Clay
R(DR)–KY*
12th-13th
November 4,1811-
January 19, 1814a
Langdon Cheeves
R(DR)–SC*
13th
January 19, 1814-
March 3, 1815
3(...continued)
Statistics,1789-1992, 739 p. Hereafter, cited as Byrd’s Historical Statistics. See also,
Gerald Gamm 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, 3-6 September 1998. Hereafter, cited as Gamm and Smith, “Last Among
Equals.”

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Speaker
Party/State
Congress
Dates
Henry Clay
R(DR)–KY*
14th-16th
December 4,1815-
October 28, 1820
John W. Taylor
R(DR)–NY*
16th
November 15, 1820-
March 3, 1821
Philip Barbour
R(DR)–VA*
17th
December 4,1821-
March 3, 1827
Henry Clay
R(DR)–KY*
18th December
3,1823-
March 6,1825b
John W. Taylor
R(DR)–NY*
19th
December 5,1825-
March 3, 1827
Andrew Stevenson
N/A–VA
20th
December 3,1827-
March 3, 1829
Andrew Stevenson
J–VA
21st-23rd
December 7,1829-
June 2, 1834
John Bell
N/A–TN
23rd
June 2, 1834-
March 3, 1835
James K. Polk
J–TN
24th-25th
December 7, 1835-
March 3, 1839
Robert M.T. Hunter
W–VA
26th
December 16,1839-
March 3, 1841
John White
W–KY
27th
May 31, 1841-
March 3, 1843
John W. Jones
D–VA
28th
December 4, 1843-
March 3, 1845
John W. Davis
D–IN
29th
December 1, 1845-
March 3, 1847
Robert C. Winthrop
W–MA
30th
December 6, 1847-
March 3, 1849
Howell Cobb
D–GA
31st
December 22, 1849-
March 3, 1851
Linn Boyd
D–KY
32nd-33rd
December 1, 1851-
March 3, 1855
Nathaniel P. Banks
Am—MAc
34th
February 2, 1856-
March 3, 1857
James L. Orr
D–SC
35th
December 7, 1857-
March 3, 1859
William Pennington
R–NJ
36th
February 1, 1860-
March 3, 1861
Galusha A. Grow
R–PA
37th
July 4, 1861-
March 3, 1863
Schuyler Colfax
R–IN
38th-40th
December 7, 1863-
March 3, 1869

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Speaker
Party/State
Congress
Dates
Theodore Pomeroy
R–NY
40th
March 3, 1869d
James G. Blaine
R–ME
41st-43rd
March 4, 1869-
March 3, 1875
Michael C. Kerr
D–IN
44th
December 6, 1875-
Aug. 19, 1876e
Samuel J. Randall
D–PA
44th-46th
December 4, 1876-
March 3, 1881
J. Warren Keifer
R–OH
47th
December 5, 1881-
March 3, 1883
John G. Carlisle
D–KY
48th-50th
December 3, 1883-
March 3, 1889
Thomas B. Reed
R–ME
51st
December 2, 1889-
March 3, 1891
Charles F. Crisp
D–GA
52nd-53rd
December 7, 1891-
March 3, 1895
Thomas B. Reed
R–ME
54th-55th
December 2, 1895-
March 3, 1899
David B. Henderson
R–IA
56th-57th
December 4, 1899-
March 3, 1903
Joseph G. Cannon
R–IL
58th-61st
November 9, 1903-
March 3, 1911
James B. (Champ) Clark
D–MO
62nd-65th
April 4, 1911-
March 3, 1919
Frederick H. Gillett
R–MA
66th-68th
May 19, 1919-
March 3, 1925
Nicholas Longworth
R–OH
69th-71st
December 7, 1925-
March 3, 1931
John N. Garner
D–TX
72nd
December 7, 1931-
March 3, 1933
Henry T. Rainey
D–IL
73rd
March 9, 1933-
August 19, 1934f
Joseph W. Byrns
D–TN
74th
January 3, 1935-
June 4, 1936g
William B. Bankhead
D–AL
74th-76th
June 4, 1936-
September 15,1940h
Sam T. Rayburn
D–TX
76th-79th
September 16,
1940-January 3,
1947
Joseph W. Martin, Jr.
R–MA
80th
January 3, 1947-
January 3, 1949
Sam T. Rayburn
D–TX
81st-82nd
January 3, 1949-
January 3, 1953

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CRS-7
Speaker
Party/State
Congress
Dates
Joseph W. Martin, Jr.
R–MA
83rd
January 3, 1953-
January 3, 1955
Sam T. Rayburn
D–TX
84th-87th
January 5, 1955-
November 16, 1961i
John W. McCormack
D–MA
87th-91st
January 10, 1962-
January 3, 1971
Carl Albert
D–OK
92nd-94th
January 21, 1971-
January 3, 1977
Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr.
D–MA
95th-99th
January 4, 1977-
January 3, 1987
James C. Wright, Jr.
D–TX
100th-101st
January 6, 1987-
June 6, 1989j
Thomas S. Foley
D–WA
101st-103rd
June 6, 1989-
January 3, 1995
Newt Gingrich
R–GA
104th-105th
January 4, 1995-
January 3, 1999
J. Dennis Hastert
R–IL
106th-
January 6, 1999-

* Although the Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1996 identifies these
Speakers as Republicans, the party designation “Democratic Republicans” is more widely used
and familiar to readers. This designation, R(DR), should not be confused with the
contemporary Republican Party, which did not emerge until the 1850s. A key to all party
abbreviations can be found in the Appendix on page 35.
a. Resigned from the House of Representatives, January 19, 1814.
b. Resigned from the House of Representatives, March 6, 1825.
c. Speaker Banks served in the House three separate times under three different party designations.
In the 34th Congress, he served as an American Party Member.
d. Elected Speaker, March 3, 1869 and served one day.
e. Died in office, August 19, 1876.
f. Died in office, August 19, 1934.
g. Died in office, June 4, 1936.
h. Died in office, September 15, 1940.
i. Died in office, November 16, 1961.
j. Resigned from the House of Representatives, June 6, 1989.

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Table 2: House Democratic Floor Leaders, 1899-2003
Floor Leader
State
Congress
Dates
James D. Richardson
TN
56th-57th
1899-1903
John Sharp Williams
MS
58th-60th
1903-1908
James B. (Champ) Clark
MO
60th-61st
1908-1911
Oscar W. Underwood
AL
62nd-63rd 1911-1915
Claude Kitchin
NC
64th-65th*
1915-1919
James B. (Champ) Clark
MO
66th 1919-1921
Claude Kitchin
NC
67th
1921-1923
Finis J. Garrett
IN
68th-70th
1923-1929
John N. Garner
TX
71st
1929-1931
Henry T. Rainey
IL
72nd*
1931-1933
Joseph W. Byrns
TN
73rd*
1933-1935
William B. Bankhead
AL
74th*
1935-June 4, 1936a
Sam T. Rayburn
TX
75th-76th*
1937-September 16, 1940b
John W. McCormack
MA
76th-79th*
September 16, 1940-1947c
Sam T. Rayburn
TX
80th 1947-1949
John W. McCormack
MA
81st-82nd*
1949-1953
Sam T. Rayburn
TX
83rd 1953-1955
John W. McCormack
MA
84th-87th*
1955-January 10, 1962d
Carl Albert
OK
87th-91st*
January 10, 1962-1971e
Thomas Hale Boggs
LA
92nd*
1971-1973f
Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr.
MA
93rd-94th*
1973-1977
James Wright
TX
95th-99th*
1977-1987
Thomas S. Foley
WA
100th-101st*
1987-June 6, 1989g
Richard A. Gephardt
MO
101st-103d *
June 14, 1989h-2003
104th-107th
Nancy Pelosi
CA
108th
2003
* Indicates Congresses in which the floor leader was also Majority Leader.
a. Elected Speaker, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Speaker Joseph W. Byrns. Records
indicate that Representative John J. O’Connor of New York, chairman of the House Rules
Committee, served as acting Majority Leader during the 14 remaining days of the 74th Congress.
He does not, however, appear to have been formally elected Majority Leader at that time and
therefore is not included in this list. At the commencement of the 75th Congress, Representatives
Samuel T. (Sam) Rayburn, James F. O’Connor, John Rankin, and others competed for the post
of Majority Leader, with Rep. Rayburn ultimately elected by the Democratic Caucus.
b. Elected Speaker following the death of Speaker William B. Bankhead.
c. Elected Majority Leader on September 16, 1940, to fill post made vacant by the election of Sam
Rayburn as Speaker.
d. Elected Speaker at the start of the 87th Congress, 2nd session following the death of Sam Rayburn.

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e. Elected Majority Leader at commencement of the 87th Congress, 2nd session when Majority Leader
John McCormack was elected Speaker to succeed Speaker Rayburn.
f. Disappeared on a flight from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska, October 16, 1972. Presumed dead
pursuant to House Resolution 1, 93rd Congress.
g. Elected Speaker on June 6, 1989 following Speaker James C. Wright’s resignation from that post
on the same date.
h. Elected Majority Leader on June 14, 1989, to fill the post made vacant by the election of Thomas
S. Foley to be Speaker on June 6, 1989.

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Table 3: House Republican Floor Leaders, 1899-2003
Floor Leader
State
Congress
Dates
Sereno E. Payne
NY
56th-61st*
1899-1911
James R. Mann
IL
62nd-65th
1911-1919
Franklin W. Mondell
WY
66th-67th*
1919-1923
Nicholas Longworth
OH
68th*
1923-1925
John Q. Tilson
CT
69th-71st*
1925-1931
Bertrand H. Snell
NY
72nd-75th
1931-1939
Joseph W. Martin, Jr.
MA
76th-79th
1939-1947
Charles Halleck
IN
80th*
1947-1949
Joseph W. Martin, Jr.
MA
81st-82nd 1949-1953
Charles Halleck
IN
83rd*
1953-1955
Joseph W. Martin, Jr.
MA
84th- 85th 1955-1959
Charles Halleck
IN
86th-88th
1959-1965
Gerald R. Ford
MI
89th-93rd
1965-December 6, 1973a
John J. Rhodes
AZ
93rd-96th
December 7, 1973-1981
Robert H. Michel
IL
97th-103rd
1981-1995
Richard K. Armey
TX
104th-107th*
1995-2003
Tom Delay
TX
108th
2003-
* Indicates Congresses in which the floor leader was also Majority Leader.
a. Resigned from the House of Representatives on December 6, 1973, after having been confirmed by
the Senate to become Vice President to fill the post vacated by the resignation of Spiro T.
Agnew.

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Table 4: House Democratic Whips, 1901-2003
Whip
State
Congress
Dates
Oscar W. Underwood
AL
56th
1901
James T. Lloyd
MO
57th-60th
1901-1908a
N/A*
61st-62nd
1909-1913
Thomas M. Bell
GA
63rd
1913-1915
N/A*
64th-66th
1915-1921
William A. Oldfield
AR
67th-70th
1921-November 19, 1928b
John McDuffie
AL
70th-72nd
1928-1933
Arthur Greenwood
IN
73rd
1933-1935
Patrick J. Boland
PA
74th-77th
1935-May 18, 1942c
Robert Ramspeck
GA
77th-79th
1942-December 31, 1945d
John J. Sparkman
AL
79th
1946-1947
John W. McCormack
MA
80th 1947-1949
J. Percy Priest
TN
81st -82nd 1949-1953
John W. McCormack
MA
83rd 1953-1955
Carl Albert
OK
84th-87th
1955-1962
Thomas Hale Boggs
LA
87th-91st
1962-1971
Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr.
MA
92nd
1971-1973
John J. McFall
CA
93rd-94th
1973-1977
John W. Brademas
IN
95th-96th
1977-1981
Thomas S. Foley
WA
97th-99th
1981-1987
Tony Coelho
CA
100th-101st
1987-June 14, 1989e
William H. Gray, III
PA
101st-102nd
June 14, 1989 -
September 11, 1991f
David E. Bonior
MI
102nd-107th
September 11, 1991g-
January 15, 2002
Nancy Pelosi
CA
107th-108th
January 15, 2002h-
January 7, 2003
Steny H. Hoyer
MD
108th
January 7, 2003-
* For these periods, there is no official record in the minutes of the Democratic Caucus or elsewhere
of the name of the Democratic Whip. Some scholars believe that Thomas Bell may have been
the whip from 1909 to 1919; others believe the whip for that period may have been John Nance
Garner of Texas. See Randall B. Ripley, “The Party Whip Organizations in the United States
House of Representatives,” American Political Science Review, vol. 58, September 1964, p.
504.
a. Resigned from position as Democratic Whip, 1908
b. Died in office, November 19, 1928.
c. Died in office, May 18, 1942.
d. Resigned from the House of Representatives, December 31, 1945.

---

CRS-12
e. Representative Tony Coelho was the first elected Democratic Whip.
f. Resigned from the House of Representatives, September 11, 1991.
g. Elected July 11, 1991, but did not assume position as House Democratic Whip until September 11,
1991.
h. Pelosi was elected on October 10, 2001, but did not assume the position of House Democratic Whip
until January 15, 2002, the date on which Bonior’s resignation as whip became effective.

---

CRS-13
Table 5: House Republican Whips, 1897-2003
Whip
State
Congress
Dates
James A. Tawney
MN
55th-58th
1897-1905
James E. Watson
IN
59th-60th
1905-1909
John W. Dwight
NY
61st-62nd
1909-1913
Charles H. Burke
SD
63rd
1913-1915
Charles M. Hamilton
WY
64th-65th
1915-1919
Harold Knutson
MN
66th-67th
1919-1923
Albert H. Vestal
IN
68th-71st
1923-1931
Carl G. Bachmann
WV
72nd
1931-1933
Harry L. Englebright
CA
73rd-78th
1933-May 13, 1943a
Leslie C. Arends
IL
78th-93rd
1943-1975
Robert H. Michel
IL
94th-96th
1975-1981
Trent Lott
MS
97th-100th
1981-1989
Dick Cheney
WY
101st
1989-March 17, 1989b
Newt Gingrich
GA
101st-103rd
March 22, 1989-1995b
Tom DeLay
TX
104th-107th
1995-2003
Roy D. Blunt
MO
108th
2003-
a. Died in office, May 13, 1943.
b. Representative Gingrich was elected House Republican Whip on March 22, 1989, following
Representative Dick Cheney’s resignation from the House on March 17, 1989, to become
Secretary of Defense.

---

CRS-14
Table 6: House Democratic Caucus Chairmen, 1849-2003
Chairman
State
Congress
Dates
James Thompson
PA
31st
1849-1851
N/Aa
32nd
1851-1853
Edson B. Olds
OH
33rd
1853-1855
George W. Jones
TN
34th
1855-1857
N/Ab
35th
1857-1859
George S. Houston
AL
36th
1859-1861
N/Ac
37th-40th
1861-1869
William E. Niblackd
IN
41st
1869-1871
Samuel J. Randalld
PA
41st
1869-1871
N/Ae
42nd
1871-1873
William E. Niblack
IN
43rd
1873-1875
Lucius Q.C. Lamar
MS
44th
1875-1877
Hiester Clymer
PA
45th
1877-1879
John F. House
TN
46th
1879-1881
N/Af
47th
1881-1883
George W. Geddes
OH
48th
1883-1885
J. Randolph Tucker
VA
49th
1885-1887
Samuel S. Cox
NY
50th
1887-1889g
William S. Holman
IN
51st-53rd
1889-1895
David B. Culberson
TX
54th
1895-1897
James D. Richardson
TN
55th
1897-1899
James Hay
VA
56th-58th
1899-1905
Robert L. Henry
TX
59th
1905-1907
Henry D. Clayton
AL
60th-61st
1907-1911h
Albert S. Burleson
TX
62nd
1911-1913h
A. Mitchell Palmer
PA
63rd
1913-1915
E.W. Saunders
VA
64th-65th
1915-1919
Arthur G. Dewalt
PA
66th
1919-1921

---

CRS-15
Chairman
State
Congress
Dates
Sam T. Rayburn
TX
67th
1921-1923
Henry T. Rainey
IL
68th
1923-1925
Charles D. Carter
OK
69th
1925-1927
Arthur Greenwood
IN
70th
1927-1929
David Kincheloe
KY
71st
1929-1930i
William W. Arnold
IL
72nd
1931-1933
Clarence F. Lea
CA
73rd
1933-1935
Edward T. Taylor
CO
74th
1935-1937
Robert L. Doughton
NC
75th
1937-1939
John W. McCormack
MA
76th
1939-September 16, 1940j
Richard M. Duncan
MO
77th
1941-1943
Harry Sheppard
CA
78th
1943-1945
Jere Cooper
TN
79th
1945-1947
Aime Forand
RI
80th
1947-1949
Francis E. Walter
PA
81st
1949-1951
Jere Cooper
TN
82nd
1951-1953
Wilbur Mills
AR
83rd
1953-1955
John J. Rooney
NY
84th
1955-1957
Melvin Price
IL
85th-86th
1957-1961
Francis E. Walter
PA
87th-88th
1961-May 31, 1963k
Albert Thomas
TX
88th
1964-1965
Eugene Keogh
NY
89th
1965-1967
Dan Rostenkowski
IL
90th-91st
1967-1971
Olin Teague
TX
92nd-93rd
1971-1975
Philip Burton
CA
94th
1975-1977
Thomas S. Foley
WA
95th-96th
1977-1981
Gillis W. Long
LA
97th-98th
1981-1985
Richard Gephardt
MO
99th-100th
1985-1989l
William Gray
PA
101st
January 4-June 14, 1989m
Steny H. Hoyer
MD
101st-103rd
June 21, 1989-1995l

---

CRS-16
Chairman
State
Congress
Dates
Vic Fazio
CA
104th-105th
1995-1999
Martin Frost
TX
106th-107th
1999-2003
Robert Menendez
NJ
108th
2003-
a. No clear records remain for this Congress. Several Democratic Members offered the various
organizing resolutions at the beginning of the Congress.
b. No clear data for this period exist.
c. No clear data for this period exist. Representative John Hickman nominated Representative F.P.
Blair as Speaker in 1861, but no records show whether Hickman was caucus chair.
d. Caucus records show Representative William B. Niblack and Representative Samuel J. Randall as
both having served as chairman during the Congress, but no dates of service were specified.
e. Representative Fernando Wood nominated the Democratic leadership slate in the House, but there
is no other evidence to show he was elected caucus chairman.
f. Available data show that Representative John F. House nominated Samuel J. Randall as the
Democratic candidate for Speaker, the traditional role of the caucus chairman. Later data show
Representative W.S. Rosecrans issuing the next call for a Democratic Caucus meeting, but there
is no evidence to suggest that Rosecrans was actually elected caucus chairman.
g. Former Parliamentarian Clarence Cannon’s notes state that “[Representative Samuel J.] Cox died
during this Congress and [Representative James B.] McCreary evidently succeeded or acted for
him.” However, Representative Cox died on September 10, 1889, six months after the sine die
adjournment of the 50th Congress and the convening of the 51st Congress.
h. Caucus records are contradictory for this period. They show the election of Representative James
Hay as chairman on January 19, 1911, but do not mention a resignation by incumbent chairman
Henry P. Clayton, nor do they specify that Hay was elected chairman for the new Congress.
Later, they show the election of Representative Albert S. Burleson on April 11, 1911.
i. Resigned from the House, October 5, 1930; there is no record of an election to fill the vacancy as
caucus chair.
j. Resigned following election as majority floor leader, September 16, 1940; records do not indicate
that a successor was chosen during the remainder of the Congress.
k. Died in office, May 31, 1963. Caucus chairmanship post vacant until January 21, 1964.
l. Representative Steny H. Hoyer was elected Caucus Chairman on June 21, 1989, following the June
14, 1989 election of Representative William H. Gray as Democratic Whip. Also on June 21,
Representative Richard Gephardt was elected Majority Leader.
m. Representative William Gray was elected Democratic Whip on June 14, 1989.

---

CRS-17
Table 7: House Republican Conference Chairmen, 1863-2003
Chairman
State
Congress
Dates
Justin S. Morrilla
VT
38th-39th
1863-1867
N/Ab
40th
1867-1869
Robert C. Schenckc
OH
41st
1869-1871
Nathaniel P. Banksc
MA
41st
1869-1871
Austin Blair
MI
42nd
1871-1873
Horace Maynard
TN
43rd
1873-1875
George W. McCrary
IA
44th
1875-1877
Eugene Hale
ME
45th
1877-1879
William P. Frye
ME
46th
1879-1881
G.M. Robeson
NJ
47th
1881-1883
Joseph G. Cannon
IL
48th-50th
1883-1889
T.J. Henderson
IL
51st-53rd
1889-1895
Charles H. Grosvenor
OH
54th-55th
1895-1899
Joseph G. Cannon
IL
56th-57th
1899-1903
William P. Hepburn
IA
58th-60th
1903-1909
F.D. Currier
NH
61st-62nd
1909-1913
William S. Greene
MA
63rd-65th
1913-1919
Horace M. Towner
IA
66th-67th
1919-1923
Sydney Anderson
MN
68th
1923-1925
Willis C. Hawley
OR
69th-72nd
1925-1933
Robert Luce
MA
73rd
1933-1935
Frederick R. Lehlbach
NJ
74th
1935-1937
Roy Woodruff
MI
75th-81st
1937-1951
Clifford Hope
KS
82nd-84th
1951-1957
Charles Hoeven
IA
85th-87th
1957-1963
Gerald R. Ford
MI
88th
1963-1965
Melvin Laird
WI
89th-90th
1965-1969
John B. Anderson
IL
91st-95th
1969-1979
Samuel L. Devine
OH
96th
1979-1981
Jack Kempd
NY
97th-99th
1981-June 4, 1987
Dick Cheneyd
WY
100th
1987-1989
Jerry Lewis
CA
101st-102nd
1989-1993
Richard K. Armey
TX
103rd
1993-1995

---

CRS-18
Chairman
State
Congress
Dates
John A. Boehner
OH
104th-105th
1995-1999
J.C. Watts
OK
106th-107th
1999-2003
Deborah Pryce
OH
108 th
2003-
a. Representative Justin S. Morrill is the first officially designated Republican caucus chairman. There
exists no clear evidence of formal chairmanships of Republican organizations in earlier
Congresses.
b. Caucus minutes show three Members (Representatives Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts, Luke
Poland of Vermont, and Samuel Hooper of Massachusetts) chairing three separate meetings.
c. Caucus minutes show Representative Robert C. Schenck elected chairman, but Representative
Nathaniel P. Banks chairing two early meetings, possibly in Schenck’s absence.
d. On June 4, 1987, Representative Dick Cheney was elected Conference Chair to succeed
Representative Jack Kemp, who resigned from the post.

---

CRS-19
Table 8: Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate, 1789-2003
Name
Partya
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/
NH
4th
May 6, 1796
F
William Bingham
F
PA
4th
February 16, 1797
William Bradford
Pro-Admin/
RI
5th
July 6, 1797
F
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/
PA
5th
March 1, 1799
F
Samuel Livermore
Pro-Admin/
NH
6th
December 22, 1799
F
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
Joseph Anderson
R(DR)
TN
8th
January 15, 1805
Joseph Anderson
R(DR)
TN
8th
February 28, 1805

---

CRS-20
Name
Partya
State Congress
Date Elected
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, 1814 b
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
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

---

CRS-21
Name
Partya
State Congress
Date Elected
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, 1845c
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
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

---

CRS-22
Name
Partya
State Congress
Date Elected
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
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

---

CRS-23
Name
Partya
State Congress
Date Elected
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
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

---

CRS-24
Name
Partya
State Congress
Date Elected
John J. Ingalls
R
KS
51st
April 3, 1890d
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]
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]
Key Pittman
D
NV
73rd
March 9, 1933
Key Pittman
D
NV
74th
January 7, 1935

---

CRS-25
Name
Partya
State Congress
Date Elected
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, 1980
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

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CRS-26
Name
Partya
State Congress
Date Elected
Strom Thurmond
R
SC
105th
[no election]
Strom Thurmond
R
SC
106th
[no election]
Robert C. Byrde
D
WV
107th
January 3, 2001
Strom Thurmonde
R
SC
107th
January 3, 2001
Robert C. Byrdf
D
WV
107th
June 6, 2001
Ted Stevens
R
AK
108th
January 7, 2003
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 chose 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 on page 35.
b. Senator John Gaillard was elected after the death of Vice President Elbridge Gerry on November
23, 1814, and continued to serve throughout the 14th Congress, as there was no vice president.
c. There was no actual election. Senator Ambrose H. Sevier was “permitted to occupy the chair for
the day.” In their table of Presidents pro tempore, Gerald Gamm and Steven S. Smith do not
include Sevier’s service. See Gerald Gamm and Steven S. 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. At the start of the 107th Congress, Republican George W. Bush had been elected President, Richard
B. Cheney Vice-President, and the Senate was evenly divided, 50 Democrats and 50
Republicans. However Vice President-elect Cheney would not be sworn in until January 20,
2001. Thus, when Congress convened on January 3, 2001, Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat,
remained as president of the Senate, providing Senate Democrats with an effective majority of
one. On January 3, 2001, the Senate adopted S. Res. 3, which provided for the election of
Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, to serve as President pro tempore from
January 3 until the inauguration of President Bush and Vice President Cheney at noon on
January 20, at which time Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican of South Carolina, would
assume the office of President pro tempore. See “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, January 3, 2001, pp. S6-S7.
f. Party control in the Senate shifted with the decision in May 2001 of Senator Jim Jeffords (VT) to
leave the Republican party and to become an Independent, caucusing with Senate Democrats.
On June 6, the Senate agreed to S. Res. 100 electing Senator Byrd President pro tempore once
again.

---

CRS-27
Table 9: Deputy Presidents Pro Tempore of the Senate,
1977-2003
Deputy President
Party—State
Congress
Dates
Pro Tempore
Hubert H. Humphreya
D—MN
95th
January 5, 1977-
January 13, 1978
George J. Mitchellb
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 Hubert H. 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 H. Mitchell Deputy President pro
tempore.
c. On November 29, 1988, Senator Mitchell was elected Majority Leader for the 101st Congress.

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CRS-28
Table 10: Permanent Acting President Pro Tempore of the
Senate, 1964-2003
Permanent Acting
Party—State
Congress
Dates
President Pro Tempore
Lee Metcalfa
D—MT
88th-95th
February 7, 1964-
January 12, 1978
a. This post was initially established in 1963 upon the adoption of S. Res. 232 and S. Res. 238 making
Senator Lee 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.

---

CRS-29
Table 11: Senate Democratic Floor Leaders and
Conference Chairmen, 1903-2003
Floor Leader
State
Congress
Dates
Arthur P. Gormana
MD
58th-59th
1903-1906
Joseph C.S. Blackburn
KY
59th
1906-1907
Charles A. Culberson
TX
60th
1907-1909
Hernando D. Money
MS
61st
1909-1911
Thomas S. Martin
VA
62nd
1911-1913
John Worth Kernb
IN
63rd-64th*
1913-1917
Thomas S. Martin
VA
65th-66th*
1917-1919
Oscar W. Underwoodc
AL
66th-67th
1920-1923
Joseph T. Robinson
AR
68th-75th
1923-1937
73rd-75th*
Alben W. Barkley
KY
75th-79th*
1937-1949
80th
Scott W. Lucas
IL
81st*
1949-1951
Ernest W. McFarland
AZ
82nd*
1951-1953
Lyndon B. Johnson
TX
83rd
1953-1961
84th-86th*
Mike Mansfield
MT
87th-94th*
1961-1977
Robert C. Byrd, Jr.
WV
95th-96th*
1977-1989
97th-99th
100th*
George J. Mitchell
ME
101st-103rd*
1989-1995
Tom Daschle
SD
104th-106th
1995-
107th*d
Note: The principal source for this table is Byrd’s Historical Statistics, p. 503. The Democratic
Leader holds two posts in modern practice: floor leader and chairman of the party conference. Since
1945, by comparison, Senate Republicans have required that one individual not hold both positions.
Initially the Senate Democratic Caucus, the name was officially changed to Democratic Conference
in 1925.
* Indicates Congresses in which the floor leader was also Majority Leader.
a. Press reports and secondary sources generally identified Senator Arthur P. Gorman as Democratic
Caucus chairman from 1893-1898, Senator John T. Morgan as chairman from 1901-1902, and
Senator James K. Jones as chairman from 1902-1903. However, caucus minutes are not
available during this time period for confirmation.
b. Secondary sources generally identify Senator John Worth Kern as the first “floor leader” in the
modern sense of the term.
c. Senator Oscar W. Underwood is the first person to be actually called “floor leader” in minutes of
the party conference.
d. Senator Daschle became Majority Leader on June 6, 2001 following a change in party control of
the Senate from Republican to Democratic.

---

CRS-30
Table 12: Senate Republican Floor Leaders, 1911-2003
Floor Leader
State
Congress
Dates
Shelby M. Cullom#
IL
62nd
1911-1913
Jacob H. Gallinger#
NH
63rd-65th
1913-Aug. 17, 1918a
Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr.#
MA
65th
1918-November 9, 1924b
66th-68th*
Charles Curtis#
KS
68th-70th*
1924-1929c
James E. Watson#
IN
71st-72nd*
1929-1933
Charles L. McNary#
OR
73rd-78th
1933-February 25, 1944d
Wallace H. White, Jr.
ME
79th
1945-1949
80th*
Kenneth S. Wherry
NE
81st-82nd
1949-November 29, 1951e
Styles Bridges
NH
82nd
1952-1953
Robert A. Taft
OH
83rd*
1953-July 31, 1953f
William F. Knowland
CA
83rd*
1953-1959
84th-85th
Everett Dirksen
IL
86th-91st
1959-September 7, 1969g
Hugh Scott
PA
91st-94th
1969-1977
Howard H. Baker
TN
95th-96th
1977-1985
97th-98th*
Robert H. Dole
KS
99th*
1985-June 11, 1996h
100th-103rd
104th*
Trent Lott
MS
104th - 106th*
June 12, 1996i - December
107th
20, 2002j
William H. Frist
TN
108th*
December 23, 2002k
Note: The principal source for this table is Byrd’s Historical Statistics, p. 505.
* Indicates Congresses in which the floor leader was also Majority Leader.
# Indicates conference chairman.
a. Died in office, August 17, 1918.
b. Died in office, November 9, 1924.
c. Senator Charles Curtis is referred to as “floor leader” in the minutes of the Republican conference,
the first such chairman of the caucus to be so identified.
d. Senator Charles L. McNary died on February 25, 1944. There is no reference in congressional
sources to the formal selection of a new Republican floor leader during the 78th Congress.
Senator Wallace H. White, Jr. appears, at least, to have been acting floor leader, even to the
extent of occupying the front aisle Republican seat opposite Majority Leader Alben W. Barkley.
Floyd M. Riddick in his article summarizing “The Second Session of the Seventy-Eighth
Congress (January 10-December 18, 1944),” American Political Science Review, vol. 39, April
1945, pp. 317-336, makes no mention of McNary’s death or the selection of a successor.
e. Died in office, November 29, 1951.
f. Died in office, July 31, 1953.
g. Died in office, September 7, 1969.
h. Resigned from Senate, June 11, 1996.
i. Elected June 12, 1996 to replace Senator Robert H. Dole.

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CRS-31
j. Resigned from office of Majority Leader, December 20, 2002.
k. Elected December 23, 2002, to replace Senator Trent Lott.

---

CRS-32
Table 13: Senate Republican Conference Chairmen, 1893-2003
Chairman
State
Congress
Dates
John Sherman
OH
53rd-54th
1893-1897
William B. Allison
IA
55th-56th
1897-1901
Eugene Hale
ME
57th
1901-1902
Orville Platt
CT
57th
1902-1903
Eugene Hale
ME
58th
1903-1904
William B. Allison
IA
58th-59th
1904-1906
Eugene Hale
ME
59th 1906-1907
Nelson W. Aldrich
RI
60th
1908-1909
Eugene Hale
ME
60th-61st
1909-1910
Shelby Cullom
IL
61st-62nd
1910-1913
Jacob H. Gallinger
NH
63rd-65th
1913-1918
Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr.
MA
65th-68th
1918-1924
Charles Curtis
KS
68th-70th
1924-1929
James E. Watson
IN
71st-72nd
1929-1932
Charles L. McNary
OR
73rd-78th
1933-1944
Arthur H. Vandenberg
MI
79th
1945-1946
Eugene D. Millikin
CO
80th-84th
1947-1956
Leverett Saltonstall
MA
85th-89th
1957-1966
Margaret Chase Smith
ME
90th-92nd
1967-1972
Norris Cotton
NH
93rd
1973-1974
Carl T. Curtis
NE
94th-95th
1975-1978
Robert Packwood
OR
96th
1979-1980
James A. McClure
ID
97th-98th
1981-1984
John Chafee
RI
99th-101st
1985-1990
Thad Cochran
MS
102nd-104th
1991-1996
Connie Mack
FL
105th-106th
1997-2000
Richard J. Santorum
PA
107th -
2001-
Note: The principal source for this table is Byrd’s Historical Statistics, p. 502. Records of the
Republican Conference are extant only from 1911. Secondary sources provide information for
years prior to 1893. Rothman, in his work, claims that Senator Henry B. Anthony served as
Republican Caucus chairman for an undetermined number of years beginning in 1869 and that
Senator George Franklin Edmunds served as chairman from 1885-1891.

---

CRS-33
Table 14: Senate Democratic Whips, 1913-2003
Whip
State
Congress
Dates
James Hamilton Lewisa
IL
63rd-65th
1913-1919
Peter G. Gerry
RI
66th-70th
1919-1929
Morris Sheppard
TX
71st-72nd
1929-1933
James Hamilton Lewis
IL
73rd-75th
1933-1939
Sherman Minton
IN
76th
1939-1941
J. Lister Hill
AL
77th-79th
1941-1947
Scott W. Lucasb
IL
80th
1947-1949
Francis J. Myers
PA
81st
1949-1951
Lyndon B. Johnsonb
TX
82nd
1951-1953
Earle C. Clements
KY
83rd-84th
1953-1957
Mike Mansfieldb
MT
85th-86th
1957-1961
Hubert H. Humphrey
MN
87th-88th
1961-1965
Russell B. Long
LA
89th-90th
1965-1969
Edward M. Kennedy
MA
91st
1969-1971
Robert C. Byrd, Jr.b
WV
92nd-94th
1971-1977
Alan Cranston
CA
95th-101st
1977-1991
Wendell H. Ford
KY
102nd-105th
1991-1999
Harry Reid
NV
106th-
1999 -
Note: The principal source for this table is Byrd’s Historical Statistics, p. 509.
a. Representative James Hamilton Lewis was elected the first Democratic Party whip in 1913.
b. Advanced to party leader.

---

CRS-34
Table 15: Senate Republican Whips, 1915-2003
Whip
State
Congress
Dates
James W. Wadsworth, Jr.
NY
64th
1915
Charles Curtis
KS
64th-68th
1915-1924
Wesley L. Jones
WA
68th-70th
1924-1929
Simeon D. Fess
OH
71st-72nd
1929-1933
Felix Hebert
RI
73rd
1933-1935
Kenneth S. Wherrya
NE
78th-80th
1944-1949
Leverett Saltonstall
MA
81st-84th
1949-1957
Everett M. Dirksen
IL
85th
1957-1959
Thomas H. Kuchel
CA
86th-90th
1959-1969
Hugh D. Scott
PA
91st
1969
Robert P. Griffin
MI
91st-94th
1969-1977
Ted Stevens
AK
95th-98th
1977-1985
Alan K. Simpson
WY
99th-103rd
1985-1995
Trent Lott
MS
104th
1995-June 12, 1996b
Don Nickles
OK
104th-107th
June 12, 1996-c
Mitch McConnell
KY
108th-
2003-
Note: The principal source for this table is Byrd’s Historical Statistics, p. 509.
a. Between 1936 and 1943 the post of Republican Whip was filled by informal, irregular appointment
by the Republican Leader.
b. Elected Majority Leader, June 12, 1996.
c. Elected to replace Senator Trent Lott as Senate Republican Whip, June 12, 1996.

---

CRS-35
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: This table is derived from Robert C. Byrd, The Senate, 1789-1989, A U.S. Senate Bicentennial
publication, S. Doc. 100-20, 100th Congress, 1stsession, (Washington: GPO, 1993), vol. 4, Historical
Statistics, 1789-1992, p. xiii.
* While the Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1996 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-36
Source Notes and Bibliography
This report relies heavily on primary congressional sources and authoritative
documents such as the privately printed Biographical Directory of the American
Congress, 1774 to 1996, and Congress’s similar online version, the Biographical
Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to the Present. In addition, over the
years, individual Members of Congress, legislative aides, and scholars have gained
limited access to party conference journals. Reliable leadership lists have been
compiled from these sources. Where these have been published, they have been used
as a source in this report. No attempts by CRS were made to gain access to caucus
or conference minutes in collecting data for this report. This report also relies upon
secondary sources developed by scholars.
Inevitably, there are conflicting interpretations of data, even among sources
generally accepted as reliable. For example, there are disparities on the dates of
elections and tenure of Senate Presidents Pro Tempore between Byrd’s history, the
1911 Senate document, and Gamm and Smith’s research. We have attempted to
footnote these contradictions where they occur.
Unless otherwise noted, the following sources were used to compile the tables
in this report:
Berdahl, Clarance, “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 p.
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, vol. 1, Addresses on the History of the
United States Senate, A U.S. Bicentennial publication, S. Doc. 100-20, 100th
Congress, 1st session (Washington: GPO, 1988), 800 p.
Byrd, Robert C., The Senate, 1789-1989, vol. 4, Historical Statistics, 1789-1992, A
U.S. Senate Bicentennial publication, S. Doc. 100-20, 100th Congress, 1st
session (Washington: GPO, 1993), 739 p.
Cannon, Clarence, Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives of the
United States. (Washington: GPO, 1935-1941), 6 v.
Cannon, Clarence, “Party History,” remarks in the appendix, Congressional Record,
vol. 89, January 22, 1941: A383-384.
Congressional Directory (Washington: GPO, various years).
Congressional Globe (Washington: 1833-1873).

---

CRS-37
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report (Washington: Congressional Quarterly,
Inc., various dates).
Congressional Record (Washington: GPO, 1873-present).
Deshler, Lewis, Deschler’s Precedents of the United States House of Representatives
(Washington: GPO, 1977-1999), 14 v.
Gamm, Gerald and Steven S. Smith, “Last Among Equals: The Senate’s Presiding
Officer,” presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science
Association, Boston, MA, September 3-6, 1998.
Hinds, Asher, Hinds’ Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United
States, H. Doc. 59-355, 59th Congress, 2nd session (Washington: GPO, 1907-
1908), 8 v.
Walter J. Oleszek, Majority and Minority Whips in the Senate: History and
Development of the Party Whip System in the U.S. Senate, S. Doc. 99-23, 99th
Congress, 1st session (Washington: GPO, 1985), 28 p.
Ripley, Randall B., Party Leadership in the House, (Washington: Brookings
Institution, 1967), 221 p.
Ripley, Randall B., “The Party Whip Organizations in the United States House of
Representatives,” American Political Science Review, vol. 58, September 1964:
561-576.
David Rothman, Politics and Power (Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press,
1966), 348 p.
U.S. Congress. House. Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States,
1789-present, various publishers.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Journal of the Senate of the United States, 1789-present,
various publishers.
— Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate: History and Development of the
Offices of the Floor Leaders, S. Doc. 97-12, 97th Congress, 1st session, prepared
by Floyd M. Riddick, (Washington: GPO, 1981), 24 p.
— President of the Senate Pro Tempore, S. Doc. 62-101, 62nd Congress, 2nd session
(Washington: GPO, 1911), 255 p.
CRS Report 95-181. The President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate: History and
Authority of the Office, by Richard C. Sachs.

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