The United States Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee (DSOC) is a
committee of the United States Senate
Many U.S. congressional committees (Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committees and select or special committee (United States Congress), select or special committees) operate in the United States Senate. Senators can be a m ...
dedicated to fostering dialogue between Senate Democrats and community leaders across the United States. The Steering Committee hosts several meetings each year with advocates, activists, policy experts, and elected officials to help the structuring of the Democrats' agenda in the United States Senate. Some of these meetings also happen annually such as with U.S. Jewish groups to discuss the
U.S. Israel relations and the
Jewish community in the United States.
Members, 119th Congress
Historical Committee Rosters
118th Congress
117th Congress
116th Congress
After
Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...
lost his
2018 reelection bid, he left the committee and his position was left unfilled.
115th Congress
Leadership
Chairpersons
Vice Chairpersons
History
In November 2008, following
that year's presidential election, the committee, whose responsibilities include proposing chairmanships and committee assignments to be ratified by the
Democratic caucus, considered stripping
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
senator
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...
of his Chairmanship of the
after he endorsed
Republican senator
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
in his
2008 presidential campaign. Many within the caucus expressed disappointment over his fervent support for McCain and his questioning of then-
Democratic senator
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's qualifications to run for the position.
Ultimately, the caucus voted 42–13 to allow Lieberman to retain his chairmanship while sanctioning him to be removed from the
United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for legislation and oversight of the natural and built environment and for studying matters concerning environmental protection and resource conservation and util ...
.
In November 2016, after Democrat
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
lost the
2016 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...
, then-Senate Democratic Leader-elect
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. ...
announced
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 ...
would fill the newly established position of Outreach Chair in the committee. Sanders came to prominence during the
2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 4,051 delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention held July 25–28 and determine the nominee for President in the 2016 United States president ...
and his appointment was seen as a broader acknowledgment of his role in galvanizing the electorate. This made Sanders the first independent to hold a leadership position within the Democratic Party.
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Senate Democratic Steering And Outreach Committee
Committees of the United States Senate
Democratic Party (United States) organizations
Leaders of the United States Senate
Lists related to the United States Senate