It is often said that the U.S. Senate is run from the floor and not the chair. When one looks at the names of senators who have held the title of Senate Majority Leader, it's hard to argue with the preceding observation. In fact, many of the senators listed below often weld nearly as much, and sometimes more, political clout as the president.
Henry Cabot Lodge played an important role in defeating President Woodrow Wilson's treaty for U.S. participation in the League of Nations after World War I. Joseph T. Robinson helped push much of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal legislation through the Congress. Lyndon Johnson ruled the Senate with a strong hand in the late 1950s. Robert Byrd was probably the most powerful politician in Washington during much of the Reagan administration. Robert Dole was a master at putting together bi-partisan support for legislation.
The current Senate Majority Leader is Republican Bill Frist of Tennessee. The first physician to serve in the Senate in over half a century, Frist is the third person to serve as Majority Leader since 2001.
The 107th Congress began in January of that year with a Senate split between Democrats and Republicans at 50-50. With Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote, the Republicans were able to organize the Senate, thus retaining their majority since 1995, and re-elected Trent Lott of Mississippi as Majority Leader.
However, on May 24, 2001, Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont announced that he was leaving the Republican Party and would caucus with the Democrats as an independent, thus giving the Democrats a 51-49 organizing majority. So, under historic circumstances on June 6, 2001, Democrat Thomas Daschleof South Dakota became Majority Leader.
Daschle had began to run for the leadership of Senate Democrats almost as soon as Majority Leader George Mitchell of Maine announced in March 1994 that he would retire at the end of his term. At first, Daschle's principle opponent to replace Mitchell was Jim Sasser of Tennessee, who seemed to have the upper hand. However, Tennessee voters rejected Sasser's bid for reelection that November, ironically electing Bill Frist in the process. Daschle's seemingly good fortune was bitter-sweet; the Democrats suprisingly lost control of both houses of Congress for this first time since the 1950s and Daschle ended up with the minority leadership post instead. With Jeffords' decision, Daschle finally became majority leader.
The Democrat, however, suffered a setback in the 2002 mid-term elections. Beginning in January 2003, the Republicans would hold 51 Senate seats and so it seemed that Trent Lott would once again become Majority Leader.
But, then, while speaking at retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond's (R-SC) 100th birthday party on December 5, 2002, Lott made the following comment, referring to his home state's choice in the 1948 presidential election:
"When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."
Lott's comments were widely construed as praising Thurmond's segregationist campaign platform and were widely condemned, especially by President George W. Bush and many conservative Republicans who were never wild about Lott to begin with.
After two weeks of public apologies in a futile attempt to keep his leadership post, Lott finally announced on December 20, 2002, that he would resign as Senate Republican Leader with the start of the new 108th Congress.
With the White House working behind the scenes to support him, Frist quickly consolidated support among his colleagues and was elected as Senate Republican Leader in a telephone conference call on December 23, 2002. Frist then became Majority Leader when control of the Senate shifted to the Republicans once the 108th Congress convened in January 2003.
Below is a complete listing of Senate Majority Leaders.
(Also see Footnote 1)
|
Period
|
Congress
|
Majority Leader
|
President
|
1920-1921
1921-1923
1923-1925
"
1925-1927
|
66th
67th
68th
"
69th
|
Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA)
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge
Charles Curtis (R-KS)
Charles Curtis
|
Wilson (D)
Harding (R)
Harding/Coolidge (R)
Coolidge
Coolidge
|
|
1927-1929
"
1929-1931
1931-1933
1933-1935
|
70th
"
71st
72nd
73rd
|
Charles Curtis
James E. Watson (R-IN)
James E. Watson
James E. Watson
Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR)
|
Coolidge
Coolidge
Hoover (R)
Hoover
F. Roosevelt (D)
|
|
1935-1937
1937-1939
"
1939-1941
1941-1943
|
74th
75th
75th
76th
77th
|
Joseph T. Robinson
Joseph T. Robinson
Alben W. Barkley (D-KY)
Alben W. Barkley
Alben W. Barkley
|
F. Roosevelt
F. Roosevelt
F. Roosevelt
F. Roosevelt
F. Roosevelt
|
|
1943-1945
1945-1947
1947-1949
1949-1951
1951-1953
|
78th
79th
80th
81st
82nd
|
Alben W. Barkley
Alben W. Barkley
Wallace H. White, Jr. (R-ME)
Scott W. Lucas (D-IL)
Ernest W. McFarland (D-AZ)
|
F. Roosevelt
Roosevelt/Truman (D)
Truman
Truman
Truman
|
|
1953-1955
"
1955-1957
1957-1959
1959-1961
|
83rd
"
84th
85th
86th
|
Robert A. Taft (R-OH)
William F. Knowland (R-CA)
Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX)
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
|
Eisenhower (R)
Eisenhower
Eisenhower
Eisenhower
Eisenhower
|
|
1961-1963
1963-1965
1965-1967
1967-1969
1969-1971
|
87th
88th
89th
90th
91st
|
Mike Mansfield (D-MT)
Mike Mansfield
Mike Mansfield
Mike Mansfield
Mike Mansfield
|
Kennedy (D)
Kennedy/Johnson (D)
L. Johnson
L. Johnson
Nixon (R)
|
|
1971-1973
1973-1975
1975-1977
1977-1979
1979-1981
|
92nd
93rd
94th
95th
96th
|
Mike Mansfield
Mike Mansfield
Mike Mansfield
Robert C. Byrd (D-WV)
Robert C. Byrd
|
Nixon
Nixon/Ford (R)
Ford
Carter (D)
Carter
|
|
1981-1983
1983-1985
1985-1987
1987-1989
1989-1991
|
97th
98th
99th
100th
101st
|
Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN)
Howard H. Baker, Jr.
Robert Dole (R-KS)
Robert C. Byrd
George J. Mitchell (D-ME)
|
Reagan (R)
Reagan
Reagan
Reagan
G.H.W. Bush (R)
|
|
1991-1993
1993-1995
1995-1997
"
1997-1999
|
102nd
103rd
104th
"
105th
|
George J. Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
Robert Dole
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Trent Lott
|
G.H.W. Bush
Clinton (D)
Clinton
Clinton
Clinton
|
|
1999-2001
2001
2001-2003
2003-2005
2005-
|
106th
107th
"
108th
109th
|
Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD)
Bill Frist (R-TN)
Bill Frist (R-TN)
|
Clinton
G.W. Bush (R)
G.W. Bush
G.W. Bush
G.W. Bush
|
|
Footnote 1: Prior to the turn of the 20th Century, the parties had no official floor leaders. Then, party caucuses began to elect their officers. Although Henry Cabot Lodge is generally recognized as the first true Senate Majority Leader, his official title was actually Republican Conference Chairman. Go back
 Senate Minority Leaders
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