Difference between revisions of "House Minority Leader"

From Wikispooks
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Created page with "{{employment |wikipedia= }} {{SMWDocs}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{Stub}}")
 
(unstub)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{employment
 
{{employment
|wikipedia=
+
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_leader
 +
|description=The parliamentary leader of the second largest party in the [[US House of Representatives]], inevitably either a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] or a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
 
}}
 
}}
 +
In U.S. politics, the '''minority leader''' is the leader of the second largest [[caucus]] in a [[legislature|legislative]] body.<ref name="senatedef">=https://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/floor_leaders.htm</ref>  Given the two-[[political party|party]] nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] or a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]. The position could be considered similar to that of the [[Leader of the Opposition|leader of the opposition]] in [[parliamentary system|parliamentary systems]].  In [[bicameralism|bicameral]] legislatures, the counterpart to the minority leader in the [[lower house]] is the [[speaker (politics)|Speaker]], and the [[majority leader]] is hence only the second-most senior member of the majority caucus. Contrastingly, in [[upper house|upper houses]], the titular speaker is frequently a separately elected officer such as a [[lieutenant governor]] or [[vice president]].
 +
 +
The minority leader is often assisted in his/her role by one or more [[whip (politics)|whips]], whose job is to enforce [[party discipline]] on votes deemed to be crucial by the party leadership and to ensure that members do not vote against the position of the party leaders.  Some votes are deemed to be so crucial as to lead to punitive measures (such as demotion from choice committee assignments) for members who violate the party line; decisions such as these are often made by the minority leader in conjunction with other senior party leaders.
 +
 +
In a [[U.S. state|state]] where the [[executive (government)|executive branch]] and both houses of the state legislature are controlled by the other party, the minority leader of one of the houses (most often the upper one) may be seen as the most senior member of the party in that state with regard to state government (although inferior in rank to a [[United States Senate|United States senator]] or [[United States House of Representatives|United States representative]], if there be such in that party from that state). 
 +
 +
At times, particularly during crucial legislation, the minority leader may be consulted by the opposite leader in order to more easily get things passed and ensure that provisions important to the interests the minority party be included. The level of partisanship in state legislative bodies varies greatly from one state to another.
 +
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
{{Stub}}
 

Latest revision as of 05:53, 8 May 2021


Employment.png House Minority Leader 

The parliamentary leader of the second largest party in the US House of Representatives, inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat

In U.S. politics, the minority leader is the leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body.[1] Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat. The position could be considered similar to that of the leader of the opposition in parliamentary systems. In bicameral legislatures, the counterpart to the minority leader in the lower house is the Speaker, and the majority leader is hence only the second-most senior member of the majority caucus. Contrastingly, in upper houses, the titular speaker is frequently a separately elected officer such as a lieutenant governor or vice president.

The minority leader is often assisted in his/her role by one or more whips, whose job is to enforce party discipline on votes deemed to be crucial by the party leadership and to ensure that members do not vote against the position of the party leaders. Some votes are deemed to be so crucial as to lead to punitive measures (such as demotion from choice committee assignments) for members who violate the party line; decisions such as these are often made by the minority leader in conjunction with other senior party leaders.

In a state where the executive branch and both houses of the state legislature are controlled by the other party, the minority leader of one of the houses (most often the upper one) may be seen as the most senior member of the party in that state with regard to state government (although inferior in rank to a United States senator or United States representative, if there be such in that party from that state).

At times, particularly during crucial legislation, the minority leader may be consulted by the opposite leader in order to more easily get things passed and ensure that provisions important to the interests the minority party be included. The level of partisanship in state legislative bodies varies greatly from one state to another.


 

Office Holders on Wikispooks

NameFromTo
Kevin McCarthy3 January 20193 January 2023
Nancy Pelosi3 January 20113 January 2007
John Boehner3 January 20073 January 2011
Nancy Pelosi3 January 20033 January 2007
Gerald Ford3 January 19656 December 1973
Sam Rayburn3 January 19533 January 1955
Sam Rayburn3 January 19473 January 1949
John Garner4 March 19294 March 1931
Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.


References