The Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate, sometimes referred to as the Democratic Conference, is the formal organization of all senators who are part of the
Democratic Party in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
. For the makeup of the
119th Congress, the caucus additionally includes two
independent senators (
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
of
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
, and
Angus King
Angus Stanley King Jr. (born March 31, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician who has served since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Maine. A Independent politician, political independent, h ...
of
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
) who caucus with the Democrats, bringing the current total to 47 members. The central organizational front for Democrats in the Senate, its primary function is communicating the party's message to all of its members under a single banner. The present chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus is
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...
of
New York.
Current leadership
Effective with the start of the
119th Congress, the conference leadership is as follows:
*
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...
*
Democratic Whip Dick Durbin
Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Dem ...
* Chair of
Steering
Steering is the control of the direction of motion or the components that enable its control. Steering is achieved through various arrangements, among them ailerons for airplanes, rudders for boats, cylic tilting of rotors for helicopters, ...
and
Policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...
Committee
Amy Klobuchar
* Chair of Strategic Communications Committee
Cory Booker
* Vice Chair of the Caucus
Elizabeth Warren
* Vice Chair of the Caucus
Mark Warner
* Chair of Outreach
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
* Caucus Secretary
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...
* Vice Chair of Outreach
Catherine Cortez Masto
* Deputy Caucus Secretary
Brian Schatz
Brian Emanuel Schatz ( ; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member ...
* Deputy Caucus Secretary
Chris Murphy
* Vice Chair of
Steering
Steering is the control of the direction of motion or the components that enable its control. Steering is achieved through various arrangements, among them ailerons for airplanes, rudders for boats, cylic tilting of rotors for helicopters, ...
and
Policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...
Committee
Jeanne Shaheen
Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American politician and former educator serving since 2009 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New Hampshire. A ...
* Vice Chair of Strategic Communications Committee
Tina Smith
History
The conference was formally organized on March 6, 1903, electing a chair to preside over its members and a secretary to keep minutes. Until that time, this caucus was often disorganized, philosophically divided and had neither firm written rules of governance nor a clear mission.
Chairs
Since
Oscar Underwood
Oscar Wilder Underwood (May 6, 1862 – January 25, 1929) was an United States of America, American lawyer and politician from Alabama, and also a candidate for President of the United States in 1912 and 1924. He was the first formally designa ...
's election in 1920, the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus has also concurrently served as the
floor leader as part of an unwritten tradition.
Notes
Vice chairs
After the victory of Democrats in the
midterm elections of 2006, an overwhelming majority in the conference wanted to reward Chuck Schumer, then the chair of the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, with a position in the leadership hierarchy. In response, then-Democratic Leader
Harry Reid created the position of vice-chair when Democrats formally took control in 2007. Schumer ascended to Reid's position following his retirement after the
2016 elections
Africa
Benin Republic
*2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016
Cape Verde
* 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016
Chad
* 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 April 2016
Djibouti
* 2016 Djiboutian presidential ...
. The position was then split, with one co-chair awarded to Mark Warner and the other awarded to Elizabeth Warren.
Caucus secretary
The United States Senate Democratic Conference Secretary, also called the Caucus Secretary was previously considered the number-three position, behind the party's floor leader and the party's whip, until in 2006, when Democratic leader
Harry Reid created the new position of Vice-Chairman of the caucus. Now, the secretary is the fourth-highest ranking position. The conference secretary is responsible for taking notes and aiding the party leadership when senators of the party meet or caucus together.
The first conference secretary was Sen.
Edward W. Carmack of Tennessee, who was elected in March 1903.
The current conference secretary is Sen.
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...
of Wisconsin, who assumed the office in January 2017.
Deputy Caucus Secretary
On December 8, 2022, Sen.
Brian Schatz
Brian Emanuel Schatz ( ; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member ...
of Hawaii was elected to the newly created position of Deputy Caucus Secretary, assuming the office at the beginning of the
118th Congress on January 3, 2023. This was an elevation from his previous leadership role as Senate Democratic Chief Deputy Whip. On January 3, 2025,
Chris Murphy was also appointed to this position.
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Donald A. Ritchie (ed) (1999). ''Minutes of the Senate Democratic Conference: Fifty-eighth through Eighty-eighth Congress, 1903-1964''. Washington, D.C. GPO. Available online i
PDFo
textformat.
External links
Official Home of the Senate Democratic Caucus on the Internet– much of this article's content was adapted from this useful public domain resource
{{Democratic Party (United States)
Caucus of the United States Senate
Democratic Caucus
United States Senate
Lists related to the United States Senate