Guide to Individuals Seated on the Senate
Dais

Valerie Heitshusen
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
August 13, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
98-397
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

Guide to Individuals Seated on the Senate Dais

he Senate meets in the Senate chamber of the Capitol. Seated at the head of the chamber
on the top of a two-tiered dais is the presiding officer. Members are assigned to one of the
T100 desks that are arranged in a semicircle facing the presiding officer. The center aisle in
the Senate chamber divides the political parties. Facing the presiding officer, Republicans sit to
the right of the center aisle, Democrats to the left. Senior Members usually sit the closest to the
dais and along the center aisle, although some choose other desks. The party floor leaders occupy
the front aisle desks, which may also be used by Senators who are managing floor consideration
of a bill or nomination. Seated around the presiding officer are various officers and employees of
the Senate who have defined roles, some of which are prescribed in Senate rules and others of
which are derived from precedent. A panoramic photograph of the Senate chamber can be found
at http://www.senate.gov/vtour/3high.htm.
Top Tier
Presiding Officer
Pursuant to Article 1, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution, the Vice President of the United States
is the President of the Senate and its presiding officer. He usually assumes this role only during
ceremonial functions; when key Administration issues are being debated; or in the case of certain
votes expected to be close (since the Constitution provides that he may vote to break a tie). In his
absence, the President pro tempore—the senior Senator from the majority party, in current
practice—fills the role of presiding officer. However, other members of the majority party usually
serve as the presiding officer on a rotating basis throughout a day’s session. The presiding officer
sits in the front of the chamber on the upper tier of the dais.
Lower Tier
Sergeant at Arms
The Sergeant at Arms or a deputy is seated to the left of the presiding officer (as viewed from the
rear of the chamber). The Sergeant at Arms is the chief law enforcement and protocol officer in
the Senate and is responsible for preserving order and decorum on the Senate floor and in the
galleries. This officer is also the principal manager of many of the Senate’s support services.
Secretary of the Senate
This chief administrative and budgetary officer of the Senate is seated to the right of the presiding
officer (as viewed from the rear of the chamber). Except for ceremonial and other special
occasions, the Secretary spends very little time on the dais. The Secretary’s office oversees a
variety of services that support the legislative operation of the Senate, including record keeping
and document management. In the absence of the Vice President and pending the election of the
President pro tempore, the Secretary performs the duties of the chair.
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Guide to Individuals Seated on the Senate Dais

Secretary to the Majority and Secretary to the Minority
The seat slightly behind and to the right of the presiding officer (as viewed from the rear of the
chamber) is reserved for the Secretary to the Minority; behind and to the left is the seat for the
Secretary to the Majority.1 These two officials, elected by their parties, are responsible for
providing support services to their respective leadership and Members. Their floor-related duties
include supervision of their party cloakrooms and briefing Senators on pending votes and issues.
Seated next to each party secretary is the Assistant Secretary to the Majority or the Assistant
Secretary to the Minority, respectively.
Seated directly in front of the presiding officer and on the lower/front tier of the dais are four
legislative officials who are under the supervision of the Secretary of the Senate. They are the
Journal Clerk, the Parliamentarian, the Legislative Clerk, and the Assistant Secretary of the
Senate.
Journal Clerk
To the far left of the dais is the Journal Clerk, who records the daily minutes of the Senate and
prepares them for publication in the Senate Journal, the official record of proceedings required by
the Constitution. The Journal Clerk also prepares a history of bills and resolutions for inclusion in
the Senate Journal.
Parliamentarian
Seated to the right of the Journal Clerk is the Senate Parliamentarian (or one of her assistants).
The Parliamentarian maintains and provides advice on the precedents and practices of the Senate
for the presiding officer and other Senators, and assists in the referral of bills to Senate
committees. The Parliamentarian is also the Senate’s official timekeeper.
Legislative Clerk
The Legislative Clerk, seated to the right of the Parliamentarian, is the Reading Clerk of the
Senate. This clerk calls and records the roll for all votes and quorum calls, maintains official
copies of measures pending before the Senate, receives all proposed and adopted amendments,
and, at the direction of the presiding officer, reads aloud all bills and amendments, presidential
messages, House messages, and other pending business.
Assistant Secretary or Assistant Legislative Clerk
The Assistant Secretary of the Senate has a seat at the far right of the lower tier of the dais. The
Assistant Secretary is the Secretary’s chief assistant and supervises the day-to-day administration
of the office. Typically, however, this seat is occupied by the Assistant Legislative Clerk.

1 These relative placements of each party secretary apply in the 113th Congress; when majority party control of the
chamber changes, the placement is reversed. In other words, each party’s secretary sits on the side corresponding to her
or his party’s side of the chamber.
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Guide to Individuals Seated on the Senate Dais

Front of Dais
Party Tables
Directly in front of the dais are two tables controlled by the parties. The table on the left side of
the well (as viewed from the rear of the chamber) is reserved for the Democrats, and the one on
the right for the Republicans. Staff at these tables assist the floor leaders and party secretaries;
Senators sometimes consult staff at these tables on the pending business or an on-going vote tally.

Author Contact Information

Valerie Heitshusen

Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
vheitshusen@crs.loc.gov, 7-8635

Acknowledgments
An earlier version of this report was written by Mildred Amer, former Specialist on the Congress. The
listed author has updated the report and can respond to inquiries on the subject.



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