General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 'President Pelosi' Trends on Twitter After Donald Trump Suggests Delaying the Election [View all]grantcart
(53,061 posts)within minutes.
A few known facts:
2 + 2 = 4
Presidential/Vice Presidential Terms are 4 years
House of Representative Terms are 2 years
Senate terms are 6 years
The House of Representatives and the Senate formally constitute a legal body called "the Congress" for exactly 2 years.
The officers of both the Senate and the House last exactly 2 years with one exception, the Vice President.
It is true that certain traditions in the Senate are continuous but we are not talking about those esoteric ones. This thread is about the Officers of the Senate having continuous standing.
This is undiluted bull, without any basis of fact and easily proven.
It is true Robert Byrd was President Pro Tem of the Senate. He served in that position for 2 and 1/2 years. It was not a single election that he continued in.
On Jan 3 2007 he was elected to a 2 year term to that office.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/110th_United_States_Congress
January 3, 2007 January 3, 2009
Senate President Dick Cheney (R)
Senate President pro tem Robert Byrd (D)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D)
On Jan 3rd Robert Byrd's term as President pro tem ended.
The 111th Congress admitted its new members and with the change in membership a new election was held, as it has been done for 222 years to elect new officers.
Senator Byrd was then elected President pro tem of the 112th Congress until he died in 2010
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/111th_United_States_Congress
January 3, 2009 January 3, 2011
Senate President Dick Cheney (R),
(until January 20, 2009)
Joe Biden (D),
(from January 20, 2009)
Senate President pro tem Robert Byrd (D),
(until June 28, 2010)
Daniel Inouye (D)
(from June 28, 2010)[1]
The only office in the Senate that is not voted on for a new term on January 3rd of every odd year is the Vice President which has its own Constitutionally defined term.
The reason that many people misunderstand the term of the Senate (not Senators but the Senate) and the House of Representatives goes to a basic misunderstanding of the word "Congress". Because it has become common for people to address Representatives to the House as "Congressman" or "Congresswoman" it has become common to think that the word Congress is a substitute for the House of Representatives.
It is not
The Constitution defines Congress as:
Article 1
Section 1: Congress
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
People talk about Congress but there has never been a continuing meeting of Congress, each Congress (both Senate and the House) are reconstituted every 2 years. Each Congress is separate.
There is an obvious reason why Senate Officers elected by Senators must be elected upon the enrollment of each Congress: 1/3 of the members are newly elected, so it makes sense that all of the members, new and old would have a voice in the election of the officers.
As stated at the beginning this is an issue that is well documented, and is without debate.
With Each Congress the Senate elects new officers (except for the Vice President)
Here are a list
January 3, 2019 January 3, 2021
Senate President
Mike Pence (R)
Senate President pro tem
Chuck Grassley (R)
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D)
The 116th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and will end on January 3, 2021,
It is a fixed term. Even Pence's term is fixed. When he is defeated his term as Senate President will end on Jan 20, 2021. It is in black and white.
Here is a comprehensive list of the officers of the 117th Congress
Listed alphabetically by party, until majorities are determined. Note: Democrats refer to themselves as a "Caucus," Republicans refer to themselves as a "Conference."
Senate President
Mike Pence (R), at least until January 20, 2021President: Mike Pence (R), at least until January 20, 2021
President pro tempore: TBD
President pro tempore emeritus: TBD
Democratic leadership[edit]
Democratic Leader: TBD
Democratic Whip: TBD
Assistant Democratic Leader: TBD
Chief Deputy Whip: TBD
Deputy Whips: TBD
Caucus Chair: TBD
Policy Committee Chair: TBD
Caucus Vice Chairs: TBD
Caucus Secretary: TBD
Campaign Committee Chair: TBD
Policy Committee Vice Chair: TBD
Steering Committee Chair: TBD
Outreach Chair: TBD
Steering and Outreach Committee Vice Chair: TBD
Republican leadership[edit]
Republican Leader: TBD
Assistant Republican Leader (Republican Whip): TBD
Chief Deputy Whip: TBD
Deputy Whips: TBD
Conference Chairman: TBD
Conference Vice Chair: TBD
Campaign Committee Chair: TBD
Policy Committee Chairman: TBD
Party leaders[edit]
House of Representatives[edit]
Listed alphabetically by party, until majorities are determined.
Speaker: TBD
Democratic leadership[edit]
Democratic Leader: TBD
Democratic Whip: TBD
Assistant Democratic Leader: TBD
Senior Chief Deputy Democratic Whip: TBD
Chief Deputy Democratic Whips: TBD
Caucus Chairman: TBD
Caucus Vice-Chairman: TBD
Campaign Committee Chairman: TBD
Steering and Policy Committee Co-Chairs: TBD
Organization, Study, and Review Chairman: TBD
Policy and Communications Chairman: TBD
Republican leadership[edit]
Republican Leader: TBD
Republican Whip: TBD
Republican Chief Deputy Whip: TBD
Senior Deputy Whips: TBD
Conference Chair: TBD
Conference Vice-Chair: TBD
Conference Secretary: TBD
Campaign Committee Chairman: TBD
Policy Committee Chairman: TBD
Here are the exact parameters of the 117th Congress
The 117th United States Congress is the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2021 to January 3, 2023. The elections of November 2020 will decide control of both houses.
The reason that all but one of the offices are TBD is because there is "NO CARRY OVER" of any office in either the Senate or the House.
As to the general nonsense of the Senate being "a continuous body", this tripe has been handed out by Senators like Byrd who wanted to create a myth of the Senate as "the greatest deliberative body in the world".
It is not
And it is not continuous, because if it were then Grassley and McConnell would continue in their positions and they will not.
This self mythologizing of Senators by Senators has been thoroughly destroyed in peer publications, you should find this well received peer review article useful on they myth of a continuous Senate.
Burying the Continuing Body Theory of the Senate by Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl William & Mary Law School
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2805&context=facpubs