1. Congressional Leadership
GOVT 2305, Module 12

2. House Party Leadership
Majority Party
Minority Party
House Party Leadership
Speaker of the House
Majority Leader
Majority Whip
Minority Leader
Minority Whip
Today (2016), Republicans are in the majority in the House; Democrats in the minority
Which party is in the majority in the House? Which is in the minority?

3. Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Who are these people?
Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

4. Tea Party in the House
Speaker Ryan has trouble uniting House Republicans because of the opposition of the Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 Republican House members who identify with the Tea Party.

5. Speaker Ryan has had difficulty negotiating with the president and the Senate because many Tea Party members won’t vote for any measure that President Obama supports.
Boehner & the Tea Party

6. Senate Leadership

7. Senate Party Leadership
Majority Party
Minority Party
Senate Party Leadership
Minority Leader
Minority Whip
Majority Leader
Majority Whip
Republicans are the majority; Democrats are the minority.
Today (2015), who are the Democrats and who are the Republicans?

8. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Who are these folks?
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

9. Vice President Joe Biden
Constitutional presiding officer
Votes to break a tie
But—an outsider who seldom spends time in the chamber
Role of VP
Who is this guy?
Vice President Joe Biden

10. The Constitution designates the senate president pro tempore as the presiding officer in the Senate in the vice president's absence. The Senate customarily elects the senator from the majority party with the greatest length of service, or seniority, in the chamber. It’s an honorary position.
Senate Pres. Pro Temp
Senator Oren Hatch of Utah who first took office in 1977 is the Senate President Pro Temp. He was born in 1934.

11. Leadership Powers Appoint members to special committees
Influence assignment to regular committees
Assign bills to committee
Control flow of business on the floor
Work with party members to set goals
Work with party members to assemble winning coalitions
National spokespersons for party
Work with president of same party to plan legislative strategy
Leadership Powers

12. Collegial Leadership
Leadership positions are elected. Leaders work with members of their party to help them achieve goals--reelection, influence in national politics, policy enactment, and election to higher office.
When President Obama took office in 2009, these folks were the leaders of the House and Senate.

13. Minority Leadership Defines party program in chamber Plans strategy
Unites members in opposition
Goal is to become majority
Mitch McConnell: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” –Nov. 2010

14. President & Congress United Government Divided Government
Since 2011
Critically evaluates presidential initiatives
Investigates administration
Blocks appointments
Works closely with White House
Passes presidential initiatives
Approves appointments

15. What You Have Learned
What officials comprise the leadership of the House?
How did the Tea Party make life difficult for Speaker Boehner?
What officials comprise the leadership of the Senate?
What role does the minority party leadership play in Congress?
What is the relationship of Congress and the president when government is unified? When it is divided?