PARTY LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

(Redirected from House Minority Leader)

'Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives' are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door (private) caucus.
The 'Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives' acts as the leader of the party that has a majority of the seats in the house (currently at least 218 of the 435 seats). The Majority Leader works with the Speaker of the House and the Majority Whip to coordinate ideas and maintain support for legislation.
The role of the majority leader has been defined by history and tradition. This officer is charged with scheduling legislation for floor consideration; planning the daily, weekly, and annual legislative agendas; consulting with Members to gauge party sentiment; and, in general, working to advance the goals of the majority party.
The office of Majority Leader was created in 1899 by Speaker David B. Henderson for Sereno Payne. Henderson saw a need for a party leader on the House floor separate from the Speaker, as the role of Speaker had become more nationally prominent and the size of the House had grown from 105 at the beginning of the century to 356. In addition to distributing the responsibility of running the House, the existence of the Majority Leader allows the Speaker to criticize his or her own party when he considers it politically necessary.
Before 1899, the majority party floor leader had traditionally been the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful committee in the House, as it generates the Bills of Revenue specified in the Constitution as the House's unique power.[1]
The 'Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives' serves as floor leader of the opposition party, and is the minority counterpart to the Majority Leader. Generally, the minority leader is on the ballot for Speaker of the House during the convening of the Congress. He or she is usually the party's top choice for Speaker if party control flips after an election. The minority leader usually meets with the Majority Leader and the Speaker to discuss agreements on controversial issues.
The current (as of 2007) House majority leader is Steny Hoyer, while the current (as of 2007) House minority leader is John Boehner.

Contents
List of Party Leaders
Notes
External links

List of Party Leaders


(Names in 'Bold' indicate 'Majority Leaders', names in ''Italics'' indicate ''Speakers of the House'' for context.)
Congress(es) Dates Democratic Leader District ''Speaker'' Republican Leader District
56th-57th 1899-1903 James Richardson ''David B. Henderson'' 'Sereno E. Payne' New York
58th-60th 1903-1908 John Sharp Williams ''Joseph Gurney Cannon''
60th-61st 1908-1911 Champ Clark
62nd-63rd 1911-1915 'Oscar W. Underwood' Alabama ''Champ Clark'' James Mann
64th-65th 1915-1919 'Claude Kitchin'
66th 1919-1921 Champ Clark ''Frederick Gillett'' 'Frank W. Mondell' Wyoming
67th 1921-1923 Claude Kitchin
68th 1923-1925 Finis Garrett 'Nicholas Longworth' Ohio
69th-70th 1925-1929 ''Nicholas Longworth'' 'John Q. Tilson' Connecticut
71st 1929-1931 John Nance Garner
72nd 1931-1933 'Henry T. Rainey' ''John Nance Garner'' Bertrand Snell
73rd 1933-1935 'Joseph Byrns' Tennessee ''Henry T. Rainey''
74th 1935-1937 'William B. Bankhead' ''Joseph Byrns''
75th 1937-1939 'Sam Rayburn' ''William Bankhead''
76th 1939-1941 Joseph Martin
77th-79th 1941-1947 'John W. McCormack' ''Sam Rayburn''
80th 1947-1949 Sam Rayburn ''Joseph Martin'' 'Charles A. Halleck'
81st-82nd 1949-1953 'John W. McCormack' ''Sam Rayburn'' Joseph Martin
83rd 1953-1955 Sam Rayburn ''Joseph Martin'' 'Charles A. Halleck'
84th-85th 1955-1959 'John W. McCormack' ''Sam Rayburn'' Joseph Martin
86th 1959-1961 Charles Halleck
87th-88th 1961-1965 'Carl Albert' ''John McCormack''
89th-91st 1965-1971 Gerald Ford
92nd 1971-1973 'Hale Boggs' ''Carl Albert''
93rd-94th 1973-1977 'Tip O'Neill' John Rhodes
95th-96th 1977-1981 'Jim Wright' ''Tip O'Neill''
97th-99th 1981-1987 Robert Michel
100th 1987-1989 'Tom Foley' ''Jim Wright''
101st-103rd 1989-1995 'Dick Gephardt' ''Tom Foley''
104th-105th 1995-1999 Dick Gephardt ''Newt Gingrich'' 'Dick Armey'
106th-107th 1999-2003 ''Dennis Hastert''
108th-109th 2003-2005 Nancy Pelosi 'Tom DeLay'
109th 2005-2006 'Roy Blunt' ''(acting)''
2006-2007 'John Boehner'
110th 2007– 'Steny Hoyer' ''Nancy Pelosi'' John Boehner
Congress(es) Dates Democratic Leader District ''Speaker'' Republican Leader District

Notes


1. Richard E. Berg-Andersson, ''A Brief History of Congressional Leadership'', online posting, ''The Green Papers'' (self-published website & blog), last updated June 7, 2001, accessed January 5, 2006.

External links



Office of the Majority Leader

Office of the Minority Leader

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