Seniority in the United States Senate

United States senators are conventionally ranked by the length of their tenure in the Senate. The senator in each U.S. state with the longer time in office is known as the senior senator; the other is the junior senator. This convention has no official standing, though seniority confers several benefits, including preference in the choice of committee assignments and physical offices. When senators have been in office for the same length of time, a number of tiebreakers, including previous offices held, are used to determine seniority.

Benefits of seniority

The United States Constitution does not mandate differences in rights or power, but Senate rules give more power to senators with more seniority. Generally, senior senators will have more power, especially within their own caucuses. In addition, by custom, senior senators from the president's party control federal patronage appointments in their states.

There are several benefits, including the following:

• Traditionally, the most senior member of the majority party is named president pro tempore of the Senate.
• Senators are given preferential treatment in choosing committee assignments based on seniority. Seniority on a committee is based on length of time serving on that committee, which means a senator may rank above another in committee seniority but be more junior in the full Senate. Although the committee chairmanship is an elected position, it is traditionally given to the most senior senator of the majority party serving on the committee, and not already holding a conflicting position such as chairmanship of another committee. The ranking member of a committee (called the vice-chairman in some select committees) is elected in the same way.
• Greater seniority enables a senator to choose a desk closer to the front of the Senate Chamber.
• Senators with higher seniority may choose to move into better office space as those offices are vacated.
• Seniority determines the ranking in the United States order of precedence although other factors, such as being a former president or first lady, can place an individual higher in the order of precedence.

Determining the beginning of a term

The beginning of an appointment does not necessarily coincide with the date the Senate convenes or when the new senator is sworn in.[1] In the case of senators first elected in a general election for the upcoming Congress, their terms begin on the first day of the new Congress. Since 1935, that means January 3 of odd-numbered years. The seniority date for an appointed senator is usually the date of the appointment, although the actual term does not begin until they take the oath of office. An incoming senator who holds another office, including membership in the U.S. House of Representatives, must resign from that office before becoming a senator.

Determining length of seniority

A senator's seniority is primarily determined by length of continuous service; for example, a senator who has served for 12 years is more senior than one who has served for 10 years. Because several new senators usually join at the beginning of a new Congress, seniority is determined by prior federal or state government service and, if necessary, the amount of time spent in the tiebreaking office. These tiebreakers in order are:[2]

1. Former senator
2. Former vice president
3. Former House member
4. Former Cabinet secretary
5. Former state governor
6. Population of state based on the most recent census when the senator took office
7. Alphabetical by last name (in the case where two senators came from the same state on the same day and have identical credentials)

When more than one senator has served in the same previous role, length of time in that prior office is used to break the tie. For instance, Ben Cardin, Bernie Sanders, Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey, Amy Klobuchar, Sheldon Whitehouse and Jon Tester took office on January 3, 2007, and the first three senators mentioned had previously served in the House of Representatives. Cardin, having served 20 years, is more senior than Sanders, who served 16 years, who in turn is more senior than Brown, who served 14 years. Casey, Klobuchar, Whitehouse, and Tester rank in that order because as of the 2000 census, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Montana had populations that ranked in that order, so Tester is ranked 33rd in seniority when the 116th United States Congress convened.

Current seniority list

Only relevant factors are listed below. For senators whose seniority is based on their state's respective population, the state population ranking is given as determined by the relevant United States Census current at the time that they began service.[3][4][5]

  Republican (53)       Democratic (45)       Independent (2)

Current rank	Historical rank[lower-alpha 1][2]	Senator	Party		State	Seniority date	Other factors	Committee and leadership positions
1	1692	Patrick Leahy		Democratic	Vermont	January 3, 1975		Ranking Member: Appropriations President pro tempore emeritus
2	1743	Chuck Grassley		Republican	Iowa	January 3, 1981		President pro tempore Chair: Finance
3	1766	Mitch McConnell		Republican	Kentucky	January 3, 1985		Majority Leader
4	1775	Richard Shelby		Republican[lower-alpha 2]	Alabama	January 3, 1987		Chair: Appropriations
5	1801	Dianne Feinstein		Democratic	California	November 4, 1992		Ranking Member: Judiciary Co-Chair: International Narcotics Control Caucus
6	1810	Patty Murray		Democratic	Washington	January 3, 1993		Ranking Member: HELP Assistant Minority Leader
7	1816	Jim Inhofe		Republican	Oklahoma	November 16, 1994		Chair: Armed Services
8	1827	Ron Wyden		Democratic	Oregon	February 6, 1996		Ranking Member: Finance
9	1830	Pat Roberts		Republican	Kansas	January 3, 1997	Former House member (16 years)	Chair: Agriculture
10	1831	Dick Durbin		Democratic	Illinois		Former House member (14 years)	Minority Whip
11	1835	Jack Reed		Democratic	Rhode Island		Former House member (6 years)	Ranking Member: Armed Services
12	1842	Susan Collins		Republican	Maine		Maine 38th in population (1990)	Chair: Aging
13	1843	Mike Enzi		Republican	Wyoming		Wyoming 50th in population (1990)	Chair: Budget
14	1844	Chuck Schumer		Democratic	New York	January 3, 1999	Former House member (18 years)	Minority Leader
15	1846	Mike Crapo		Republican	Idaho		Former House member (6 years)	Chair: Banking
16	1855	Tom Carper		Democratic	Delaware	January 3, 2001	Former House member (10 years)	Ranking Member: Environment
17	1856	Debbie Stabenow		Democratic	Michigan		Former House member (4 years)	Ranking Member: Agriculture Democratic Policy Committee Chair
18	1859	Maria Cantwell[lower-alpha 3]		Democratic	Washington		Former House member (2 years)	Ranking Member: Commerce
19	1867	John Cornyn		Republican	Texas	December 2, 2002		Chair: International Narcotics Control Caucus
20	1868	Lisa Murkowski		Republican	Alaska	December 20, 2002[lower-alpha 4]		Chair: Energy
21	1870	Lindsey Graham		Republican	South Carolina	January 3, 2003	Former House member	Chair: Judiciary
22	1871	Lamar Alexander		Republican	Tennessee			Chair: HELP
23	1876	Richard Burr		Republican	North Carolina	January 3, 2005	Former House member (10 years)
24	1879	John Thune		Republican	South Dakota		Former House member (6 years)	Majority Whip
25	1885	Bob Menendez		Democratic	New Jersey	January 17, 2006[lower-alpha 4]		Ranking Member: Foreign Relations
26	1886	Ben Cardin		Democratic	Maryland	January 3, 2007	Former House member (20 years)	Ranking Member: Small Business
27	1887	Bernie Sanders		Independent	Vermont		Former House member (16 years)	Ranking Member: Budget Democratic Outreach Chair
28	1888	Sherrod Brown		Democratic	Ohio		Former House member (14 years)	Ranking Member: Banking
29	1890	Bob Casey Jr.		Democratic	Pennsylvania		Pennsylvania 6th in population (2000)	Ranking Member: Aging
30	1893	Amy Klobuchar		Democratic	Minnesota		Minnesota 21st in population (2000)	Ranking Member: Rules Democratic Steering Committee Chair
31	1894	Sheldon Whitehouse		Democratic	Rhode Island		Rhode Island 43rd in population (2000)
32	1895	Jon Tester		Democratic	Montana		Montana 44th in population (2000)	Ranking Member: Veterans' Affairs
33	1896	John Barrasso		Republican	Wyoming	June 22, 2007[lower-alpha 4]		Chair: Environment Republican Conference Chair
34	1897	Roger Wicker		Republican	Mississippi	December 31, 2007[lower-alpha 4]		Chair: Commerce
35	1899	Tom Udall		Democratic	New Mexico	January 3, 2009	Former House member	Vice Chair: Indian Affairs
36	1901	Jeanne Shaheen		Democratic	New Hampshire		Former governor (6 years)
37	1902	Mark Warner		Democratic	Virginia		Former governor (4 years)	Vice Chair: Intelligence Democratic Caucus Vice Chair
38	1903	Jim Risch		Republican	Idaho		Former governor (7 months)	Chair: Foreign Relations
39	1905	Jeff Merkley		Democratic	Oregon
40	1909	Michael Bennet		Democratic	Colorado	January 21, 2009[lower-alpha 4]
41	1910	Kirsten Gillibrand		Democratic	New York	January 26, 2009[lower-alpha 4]
42	1916	Joe Manchin		Democratic	West Virginia	November 15, 2010	Former governor	Ranking Member: Energy Democratic Policy Committee Vice Chair
43	1917	Chris Coons		Democratic	Delaware			Vice Chair: Ethics
44	1919	Roy Blunt		Republican	Missouri	January 3, 2011	Former House member (14 years); Missouri 17th in population (2000)	Chair: Rules Republican Policy Committee Chair
45	1920	Jerry Moran		Republican	Kansas		Former House member (14 years); Kansas 33rd in population (2000)	Chair: Veterans' Affairs
46	1921	Rob Portman		Republican	Ohio		Former House member (12 years)
47	1922	John Boozman		Republican	Arkansas		Former House member (10 years)
48	1923	Pat Toomey		Republican	Pennsylvania		Former House member (6 years)
49	1924	John Hoeven		Republican	North Dakota		Former governor	Chair: Indian Affairs
50	1925	Marco Rubio		Republican	Florida		Florida 4th in population (2000)	Chair: Small Business Chair: Intelligence (Acting)
51	1926	Ron Johnson		Republican	Wisconsin		Wisconsin 20th in population (2000)	Chair: Homeland Security
52	1927	Rand Paul		Republican	Kentucky		Kentucky 25th in population (2000)
53	1928	Richard Blumenthal		Democratic	Connecticut		Connecticut 29th in population (2000)
54	1929	Mike Lee		Republican	Utah		Utah 34th in population (2000)	Republican Steering Committee Chair
55	1932	Brian Schatz		Democratic	Hawaii	December 26, 2012[lower-alpha 4]
56	1933	Tim Scott		Republican	South Carolina	January 2, 2013[lower-alpha 4]
57	1934	Tammy Baldwin		Democratic	Wisconsin	January 3, 2013	Former House member (14 years)	Democratic Caucus Secretary
58	1937	Chris Murphy		Democratic	Connecticut		Former House member (6 years); Connecticut 29th in population (2010)
59	1938	Mazie Hirono		Democratic	Hawaii		Former House member (6 years); Hawaii 40th in population (2010)
60	1939	Martin Heinrich		Democratic	New Mexico		Former House member (4 years)
61	1940	Angus King		Independent	Maine		Former governor (8 years)
62	1941	Tim Kaine		Democratic	Virginia		Former governor (4 years)
63	1942	Ted Cruz		Republican	Texas		Texas 2nd in population (2010)
64	1943	Elizabeth Warren		Democratic	Massachusetts		Massachusetts 14th in population (2010)	Democratic Caucus Vice Chair
65	1944	Deb Fischer		Republican	Nebraska		Nebraska 38th in population (2010)
66	1948	Ed Markey		Democratic	Massachusetts	July 16, 2013
67	1949	Cory Booker		Democratic	New Jersey	October 31, 2013
68	1951	Shelley Moore Capito		Republican	West Virginia	January 3, 2015	Former House member (14 years)
69	1952	Gary Peters		Democratic	Michigan		Former House member (6 years); Michigan 8th in population (2010)	Ranking Member: Homeland Security
70	1953	Bill Cassidy		Republican	Louisiana		Former House member (6 years); Louisiana 25th in population (2010)
71	1954	Cory Gardner		Republican	Colorado		Former House member (4 years); Colorado 22nd in population (2010)
72	1955	James Lankford		Republican	Oklahoma		Former House member (4 years); Oklahoma 28th in population (2010)	Chair: Ethics
73	1956	Tom Cotton		Republican	Arkansas		Former House member (2 years); Arkansas 32nd in population (2010)
74	1957	Steve Daines		Republican	Montana		Former House member (2 years); Montana 44th in population (2010)
75	1958	Mike Rounds		Republican	South Dakota		Former governor
76	1959	David Perdue		Republican	Georgia		Georgia 9th in population (2010)
77	1960	Thom Tillis		Republican	North Carolina		North Carolina 10th in population (2010)
78	1961	Joni Ernst		Republican	Iowa		Iowa 30th in population (2010)	Republican Conference Vice Chair
79	1962	Ben Sasse		Republican	Nebraska		Nebraska 38th in population (2010)
80	1963	Dan Sullivan		Republican	Alaska		Alaska 47th in population (2010)
81	1964	Chris Van Hollen		Democratic	Maryland	January 3, 2017	Former House member (14 years)
82	1965	Todd Young		Republican	Indiana		Former House member (6 years)	NRSC Chair
83	1966	Tammy Duckworth		Democratic	Illinois		Former House member (4 years)
84	1967	Maggie Hassan		Democratic	New Hampshire		Former governor
85	1968	Kamala Harris		Democratic	California		California 1st in population (2010)
86	1969	John Neely Kennedy		Republican	Louisiana		Louisiana 25th in population (2010)
87	1970	Catherine Cortez Masto		Democratic	Nevada		Nevada 35th in population (2010)	DSCC Chair
88	1972	Tina Smith		Democratic	Minnesota	January 3, 2018	Minnesota 21st in population (2010)
89	1973	Doug Jones		Democratic	Alabama		Alabama 23rd in population (2010)
90	1974	Cindy Hyde-Smith		Republican	Mississippi	April 2, 2018[lower-alpha 4]
91	1975	Marsha Blackburn		Republican	Tennessee	January 3, 2019	Former House member (16 years)
92	1976	Kyrsten Sinema[lower-alpha 5]		Democratic	Arizona		Former House member (6 years); Arizona 16th in population (2010)
93	1977	Kevin Cramer		Republican	North Dakota		Former House member (6 years); North Dakota 48th in population (2010)
94	1978	Martha McSally		Republican	Arizona		Former House member (4 years)
95	1979	Jacky Rosen		Democratic	Nevada		Former House member (2 years)
96	1980	Mitt Romney		Republican	Utah		Former governor
97	1981	Mike Braun		Republican	Indiana		Indiana 15th in population (2010)
98	1982	Josh Hawley		Republican	Missouri		Missouri 18th in population (2010)
99	1983	Rick Scott		Republican	Florida	January 8, 2019
100	1984	Kelly Loeffler		Republican	Georgia	January 6, 2020
Rank	Historical rank	Senator	Party		State	Seniority date	Other factors	Committee and leadership positions

See also

• Current members of the United States Senate
• Seniority in the United States House of Representatives
• List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service
• List of longest-living United States senators

Notes

1. "Historical rank" refers to the senator's seniority over the entire history of the Senate since 1789. This is an absolute number that does not change from one Congress to the next.
2. Richard Shelby's 1994 party change did not break his service or seniority.
3. Maria Cantwell (#18) is the Senate's most senior junior senator.
4. The seniority date for an appointed senator is the date of the appointment, not necessarily the date of taking the oath of office. See Determining the beginning of a term, above.
5. Kyrsten Sinema (#92) is the Senate's most junior senior senator.

References

1. "A chronological list of senators since the First Congress in 1789" (PDF). United States Senate. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
2. "Senators of the United States 1789–present, A chronological list of senators since the First Congress in 1789" (PDF). Senate Historical Office. April 17, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
3. "1991 U.S Census Report" (PDF).
4. American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. "2000 Census State Population Rankings". Factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
5. "Resident Population Data (Text Version) – 2010 Census, by state and census region".