What is the Senate?

The Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, made up of 100 members, with each of the 50 states represented by two senators regardless of population. Created by Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, the Senate was designed to give equal voice to every state and to act as a steadying counterweight to the more populous and faster-moving House of Representatives.

Senators serve six-year terms, with one-third of Senate seats up for election every two years. This staggered cycle means the Senate as a whole never turns over completely at once, providing institutional continuity and memory. Senators must be at least 30 years old, U.S. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the state they represent.

The Senate has several powers that the House does not share. It ratifies treaties negotiated by the President, requiring a two-thirds vote for approval. It confirms presidential appointments to the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, ambassadorships, and other senior offices, requiring a simple majority. It conducts trials in impeachment cases brought by the House and can remove federal officials from office with a two-thirds vote.

Senate procedure differs from the House in important ways. The Senate has a tradition of unlimited debate, which allows individual senators to use the filibuster to delay or block legislation. Ending a filibuster requires a cloture vote of 60 senators, which means most major legislation effectively requires a 60-vote supermajority to pass. The Senate also has more flexible rules on amendments, allowing senators to attach unrelated provisions to bills.

The Vice President of the United States serves as the President of the Senate but only votes to break a tie. In the Vice President's absence, the President Pro Tempore presides. This is by tradition the longest-serving senator from the majority party. Day-to-day floor management is handled by the Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader, the elected heads of each party caucus. The Senate meets in the north wing of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.