The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which, along with the United States House of Representativesthe lower chamberconstitutes the legislature of the United States.
The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The Senate is composed of senators, each of whom represents a single state in its entirety.
From 1789 to 1913, senators were appointed by legislatures of the states they represented; they are now elected by popular vote, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913.
These include the approval of treaties, and the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, flag officers, regulatory officials, ambassadors, other federal executive officials and other federal uniformed officers. In addition to these, in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for vice president, the duty falls to the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office.
The Senate is widely considered both a more deliberative The presiding officer of the Senate is the vice president of the United States, who is president of the Senate. In the vice president’s absence, the president pro tempore, who is customarily the senior member of the party holding a majority of seats, presides over the Senate.In the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers.
