# United States Senate The **United States Senate** is the upper chamber of [[Congress]]: 100 members, two per state, serving six-year terms staggered so that about a third of the seats are contested every two years. It shares lawmaking with the [[United States House of Representatives]] but holds three powers the House lacks — confirming nominees, consenting to treaties, and trying impeachments. That makes it the chamber where most of this vault's personnel and accountability fights are decided. ## Constitutional design Article I gives every state two senators regardless of population, the price of the 1787 compromise between large and small states. Senators were chosen by state legislatures until the [[Seventeenth Amendment]] (1913) required direct popular election. The Vice President presides and votes only to break ties; the president pro tempore, currently [[Chuck Grassley]], is the formal stand-in. | Power | Source | Threshold | |---|---|---| | Confirm nominees ([[Advice and Consent]]) | Art. II, §2 ([[Appointments Clause]]) | Simple majority | | Consent to treaties | Art. II, §2 | Two-thirds of senators present | | Try impeachments | Art. I, §3 | Two-thirds present to convict | | Expel a member | Art. I, §5 | Two-thirds | | Pass legislation | Art. I, §7 | Majority, but 60 to end debate on most bills | The treaty pathway is mapped in [[How a Treaty Is Made and Ratified]], removal in [[Impeachment and Removal Process Flow]], and the certification and seating of newly elected senators in [[How a Midterm Election Is Certified]]. ## The filibuster and the nuclear options The 60-vote threshold comes from Senate rules, not the Constitution. Under [[Cloture]] (Rule XXII), three-fifths of senators must vote to end debate on most legislation. That is the [[Filibuster]], and it is why major partisan bills move through [[Reconciliation]], which cannot be filibustered but is fenced by the [[Byrd Rule]]. Majorities have narrowed the filibuster for nominations by the [[Nuclear Option]] — overruling the chair by simple majority to set a new precedent: | Date | Majority leader | Change | |---|---|---| | Nov 21, 2013 | Harry Reid (D) | Majority cloture for executive nominees and lower-court judges | | Apr 6, 2017 | [[Mitch McConnell]] (R) | Extended to Supreme Court nominations | | Apr 3, 2019 | Mitch McConnell (R) | Post-cloture debate on most nominations cut to two hours | | Sept 11, 2025 | [[John Thune]] (R) | Unlimited en bloc confirmation of sub-Cabinet civilian nominees; Cabinet secretaries and judges excluded | The 2025 change answered Democrats' blanket refusal of unanimous consent on Trump nominees. The legislative filibuster itself survives: in April 2026, with [[Donald Trump]] pressing senators to abolish it to pass proof-of-citizenship voting legislation (see [[SAVE Act]]), Thune said Republicans did not have 51 votes to do so. [[Mike Lee]] floated a return to the "talking filibuster" as a middle path. Individual senators retain leverage through holds — objecting to unanimous consent, which forces floor time — and, on district-court and U.S. attorney nominees, the home-state [[Blue Slip]] honored by the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]]. The full nominations path is in [[Confirmation Pipeline]]. ## Composition and leadership (119th Congress) As of October 2026: **53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, two independents** ([[Bernie Sanders]] and [[Angus King]]) caucusing with Democrats. Majority Leader [[John Thune]] and Majority Whip John Barrasso lead the Republicans; Minority Leader [[Chuck Schumer]] and Minority Whip [[Dick Durbin]] lead the Democrats. Two 2026 vacancies were filled by appointment without changing the split. [[Markwayne Mullin]] resigned on March 23 to become Secretary of Homeland Security, and Gov. [[Kevin Stitt]] appointed caretaker [[Alan Armstrong]]. [[Lindsey Graham]] died on July 11, and his sister [[Darline Graham]] was appointed and sworn in in mid-July. **November 2026:** 35 seats are on the ballot — 33 regular Class 2 seats plus special elections in Ohio ([[Jon Husted]], filling [[JD Vance]]'s seat) and Florida ([[Ashley Moody]], filling [[Marco Rubio]]'s). Democrats need a net gain of four seats for a majority, since Vice President Vance breaks ties. See [[2026 Midterms Hub]]. ## See Also - [[Congress]] · [[Congress Hub]] · [[Committees Hub]] · [[United States House of Representatives]] - [[Filibuster]] · [[Cloture]] · [[Nuclear Option]] · [[Reconciliation]] · [[Byrd Rule]] - [[Advice and Consent]] · [[Confirmation Pipeline]] · [[Blue Slip]] · [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] · [[Senate Banking Committee]]