Yea or Nay? Voting in the Senate". Senate.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011 . Retrieved April 11, 2011. Non-voting members of Congress". Archived from the original on November 23, 2010 . Retrieved March 22, 2011.

a b "Constitution of the United States". Senate.gov. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022 . Retrieved January 8, 2023. The Senate uses Standing Rules for operation. Like the House of Representatives, the Senate meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At one end of the chamber of the Senate is a dais from which the presiding officer presides. The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials. Sessions of the Senate are opened with a special prayer or invocation and typically convene on weekdays. Sessions of the Senate are generally open to the public and are broadcast live on television, usually by C-SPAN 2. The manner by which the Seventeenth Amendment is enacted varies among the states. A 2018 report breaks this down into the following three broad categories (specific procedures vary among the states): [25] In 2004, Alaska enacted legislation and a separate ballot referendum that took effect on the same day, but that conflicted with each other. The effect of the ballot-approved law is to withhold from the governor authority to appoint a senator. [30] Because the 17th Amendment vests the power to grant that authority to the legislature– not the people or the state generally– it is unclear whether the ballot measure supplants the legislature's statute granting that authority. [30] As a result, it is uncertain whether an Alaska governor may appoint an interim senator to serve until a special election is held to fill the vacancy. Amar, Vik D. (January 1, 1988). "The Senate and the Constitution". The Yale Law Journal. 97 (6): 1111–1130. doi: 10.2307/796343. JSTOR 796343. S2CID 53702587.Each Senate committee and subcommittee is led by a chair (usually a member of the majority party). Formerly, committee chairs were determined purely by seniority; as a result, several elderly senators continued to serve as chair despite severe physical infirmity or even senility. [59] Committee chairs are elected, but, in practice, seniority is rarely bypassed. The chairs hold extensive powers: they control the committee's agenda, and so decide how much, if any, time to devote to the consideration of a bill; they act with the power of the committee in disapproving or delaying a bill or a nomination by the president; they manage on the floor of the full Senate the consideration of those bills the committee reports. This last role was particularly important in mid-century, when floor amendments were thought not to be collegial. They also have considerable influence: senators who cooperate with their committee chairs are likely to accomplish more good for their states than those who do not. The Senate rules and customs were reformed in the twentieth century, largely in the 1970s. Committee chairmen have less power and are generally more moderate and collegial in exercising it, than they were before reform. [60] The second-highest member, the spokesperson on the committee for the minority party, is known in most cases as the ranking member. [61] In the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Select Committee on Ethics, however, the senior minority member is known as the vice-chair.

The Senate uses committees (and their subcommittees) for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch. Formally, the whole Senate appoints committee members. In practice, however, the choice of members is made by the political parties. Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual senators, giving priority based on seniority. Each party is allocated seats on committees in proportion to its overall strength.Zelizer, Julian E. On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences, 1948–2000 (2006) In 45 states, a primary election is held first for the Republican and Democratic parties (and a select few third parties, depending on the state) with the general election following a few months later. In most of these states, the nominee may receive only a plurality, while in some states, a runoff is required if no majority was achieved. In the general election, the winner is the candidate who receives a plurality of the popular vote. Recess Appointments FAQ" (PDF). US Senate, Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2017 . Retrieved November 20, 2007. Comiskey, Michael. Seeking Justices: The Judging of Supreme Court Nominees U. Press of Kansas, 2004. Senate Chamber Desks – Overview". United States Senate. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020 . Retrieved September 2, 2017.

Davidson, Roger H., and Walter J. Oleszek, eds. (1998). Congress and Its Members, 6th ed. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly. (Legislative procedure, informal practices, and member information)The remaining thirty-eight states provide for gubernatorial appointments, "with the appointed senator serving the balance of the term or until the next statewide general election". [25] :8–9 America's electoral system gives the Republicans advantages over Democrats". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613 . Retrieved February 6, 2023. a b c "US Congress Salaries and Benefits". Usgovinfo.about.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021 . Retrieved October 2, 2013. Each party elects Senate party leaders. Floor leaders act as the party chief spokesmen. The Senate majority leader is responsible for controlling the agenda of the chamber by scheduling debates and votes. Each party elects an assistant leader (whip), who works to ensure that his party's senators vote as the party leadership desires.