United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

Senate Rules and Administration Committee

Standing committee
Active United States Senate 119th Congress
History
Formed	December 9, 1874
Leadership
Chair	Mitch McConnell (R) Since January 3, 2025
Ranking member	Alex Padilla (D) Since January 3, 2025
Structure
Political parties	Majority (9)   Republican (9) Minority (8)   Democratic (8)
Jurisdiction
Policy areas	Books, manuscripts and monuments to the memory of individuals, Congressional office buildings, Congressional Record, Corrupt practices, Credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, Federal elections generally, Government Publishing Office, Meetings of the Congress and attendance of members, Presidential succession, Senate library, statuary and works of art in the Capitol, Smithsonian Institution, Standing Rules of the United States Senate, United States Botanic Garden
Oversight authority	Architect of the Capitol, Congressional Research Service, FEC, EAC, GPO, Historian of the United States Senate, Library of Congress, Parliamentarian of the United States Senate, Secretary of the Senate, Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate, Smithsonian Institution, United States Botanic Gardens, United States Senate Curator, United States Senate Library
House counterpart	House Administration Committee House Rules Committee
Website
https://www.rules.senate.gov/
Rules
Rule XXV.1.(n), Standing Rules of the Senate

The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, also called the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for contested elections. The committee is not as powerful as its House counterpart, the House Committee on Rules, as it does not set the terms of debate for individual legislative proposals, since the Senate has a tradition of open debate. Some members of the committee are also ex officio members of the Joint Committee on the Library and the Joint Committee on Printing.

History

Further information: United States Senate Committee on Rules

The Committee was first created as the Select Committee to Revise the Rules of the Senate on December 3, 1867. On December 9, 1874, it became a standing committee.

On January 2, 1947, its name was changed to the Committee on Rules and Administration, and it took over the functions of the following committees:

• Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
• Committee on Education and Labor (functions were later transferred to Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee)
• Committee on Enrolled Bills
• Committee on Privileges and Elections

Jurisdiction

In accordance of Rule XXV of the United States Senate, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating primarily to the following subjects is referred to the Senate Rules Committee:

1. Administration of the Senate Office Buildings and the Senate wing of the Capitol, including the assignment of office space;
2. Congressional organization relative to rules and procedures, and Senate rules and regulations, including floor and gallery rules;
3. Corrupt practices;
4. Credentials and qualifications of Members of the Senate, contested elections, and acceptance of incompatible offices;
5. Federal elections generally, including the election of the President, Vice President, and Members of the Congress;
6. Nominations to fill a vacancy in the Vice Presidency;
7. Government Printing Office, and the printing and correction of the Congressional Record, as well as those matters provided for under rule XI;
8. Meetings of the Congress and attendance of Members;
9. Payment of money out of the contingent fund of the Senate or creating a charge upon the same (except that any resolution relating to substantive matter within the jurisdiction of any other standing committee of the Senate shall be first referred to such committee);
10. Presidential succession;
11. Purchase of books and manuscripts and erection of monuments to the memory of individuals;
12. Senate Library and statuary, art, and pictures in the Capitol and Senate Office Buildings;
13. Services to the Senate, including the Senate restaurant; and,
14. United States Capitol and congressional office buildings, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution (and the incorporation of similar institutions), and the Botanic Gardens. ^[1]

The Senate Rules Committee is also charged:

1. To make a continuing study of the organization and operation of the Congress of the United States and shall recommend improvements in such organization and operation with a view toward strengthening the Congress, simplifying its operations, improving its relationships with other branches of the United States Government, and enabling it better to meet its responsibilities under the Constitution of the United States;
2. To identify any court proceeding or action which, in the opinion of the Committee, is of vital interest to the Congress as a constitutionally established institution of the Federal Government and call such proceeding or action to the attention of the Senate; and,
3. To develop, implement, and update as necessary a strategic planning process and a strategic plan for the functional and technical infrastructure support of the Senate and provide oversight over plans developed by Senate officers and others in accordance with the strategic planning process. ^[2]

Members, 119th Congress

Main article: 119th United States Congress

Majority [3]	Minority [4]
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky, Chair Ted Cruz, Texas Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Roger Wicker, Mississippi Deb Fischer, Nebraska Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Katie Britt, Alabama John Boozman, Arkansas	Alex Padilla, California, Ranking Member Chuck Schumer, New York Mark Warner, Virginia Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Jeff Merkley, Oregon Jon Ossoff, Georgia Michael Bennet, Colorado Peter Welch, Vermont

Chairs

Select Committee to Revise the Rules of the Senate, 1867–1874

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Henry Anthony	Republican	RI	1867	1871
Samuel Pomeroy	Republican	KS	1871	1873
Thomas Ferry	Republican	MI	1873	1874

Committee on Rules, 1874–1947

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Thomas Ferry	Republican	MI	1874	1877
James Blaine	Republican	ME	1877	1879
John Morgan	Democratic	AL	1879	1881
William Frye	Republican	ME	1881	1887
Nelson Aldrich	Republican	RI	1887	1893
Joseph Blackburn	Democratic	KY	1893	1895
Nelson Aldrich	Republican	RI	1895	1899
John Spooner	Republican	WI	1899	1907
Philander Knox	Republican	PA	1907	1909
Murray Crane	Republican	MA	1909	1913
Lee Overman	Democratic	NC	1913	1919
Philander Knox	Republican	PA	1919	1921
Charles Curtis	Republican	KS	1921	1929
George Moses	Republican	NH	1929	1933
Royal Copeland	Democratic	NY	1933	1936
Matthew Neely	Democratic	WV	1936	1941
Harry Byrd	Democratic	VA	1941	1947

Committee on Rules and Administration, 1947–present

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Wayland Brooks	Republican	IL	1947	1949
Carl Hayden	Democratic	AZ	1949	1953
William Jenner	Republican	IN	1953	1955
Theodore Green	Democratic	RI	1955	1957
Thomas Hennings	Democratic	MO	1957	1960
Mike Mansfield	Democratic	MT	1960	1963
Everett Jordan	Democratic	NC	1963	1973
Howard Cannon	Democratic	NV	1973	1978
Claiborne Pell	Democratic	RI	1978	1981
Charles Mathias	Republican	MD	1981	1987
Wendell Ford	Democratic	KY	1987	1995
Ted Stevens	Republican	AK	1995
John Warner	Republican	VA	1995	1999
Mitch McConnell	Republican	KY	1999	2001
Chris Dodd	Democratic	CT	2001
Mitch McConnell	Republican	KY	2001
Chris Dodd	Democratic	CT	2001	2003
Trent Lott	Republican	MS	2003	2007
Dianne Feinstein	Democratic	CA	2007	2009
Chuck Schumer	Democratic	NY	2009	2015
Roy Blunt	Republican	MO	2015	2017
Richard Shelby	Republican	AL	2017	2018
Roy Blunt	Republican	MO	2018	2021
Amy Klobuchar	Democratic	MN	2021	2025
Mitch McConnell	Republican	KY	2025	present

Ranking Members

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Marlow Cook	Republican	KY	???	1975
Mark Hatfield	Republican	OR	1975	1981
Wendell Ford	Democratic	KY	1981	1987
Ted Stevens	Republican	AK	1987	1995
Wendell Ford	Democratic	KY	1995	1999
Chris Dodd	Democratic	CT	1999	2001
Mitch McConnell	Republican	KY	2001	2003
Chris Dodd	Democratic	CT	2003	2007
Bob Bennett	Republican	UT	2007	2011
Lamar Alexander	Republican	TN	2011	2013
Pat Roberts	Republican	KS	2013	2015
Chuck Schumer	Democratic	NY	2015	2017
Amy Klobuchar	Democratic	MN	2017	2021
Roy Blunt	Republican	MO	2021	2023
Deb Fischer	Republican	NE	2023	2025
Alex Padilla	Democratic	CA	2025	present

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

Main article: 118th United States Congress

Majority [5]	Minority [6]
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, Chair Dianne Feinstein, California (until September 29, 2023) Chuck Schumer, New York Mark Warner, Virginia Jeff Merkley, Oregon Alex Padilla, California Jon Ossoff, Georgia Michael Bennet, Colorado Peter Welch, Vermont Laphonza Butler, California (from October 17, 2023) [7]	Deb Fischer, Nebraska, Ranking Member Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Ted Cruz, Texas Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Roger Wicker, Mississippi Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Katie Britt, Alabama

117th Congress

Main article: 117th United States Congress

Majority	Minority
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, Chair Dianne Feinstein, California Chuck Schumer, New York Mark Warner, Virginia Patrick Leahy, Vermont Angus King, Maine [a] Jeff Merkley, Oregon Alex Padilla, California Jon Ossoff, Georgia	Roy Blunt, Missouri, Ranking Member Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Richard Shelby, Alabama Ted Cruz, Texas Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Roger Wicker, Mississippi Deb Fischer, Nebraska Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Bill Hagerty, Tennessee

116th Congress

Main article: 116th United States Congress

Majority	Minority
Roy Blunt, Missouri, Chair Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Richard Shelby, Alabama Pat Roberts, Kansas Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Ted Cruz, Texas Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Roger Wicker, Mississippi Deb Fischer, Nebraska Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi	Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, California Chuck Schumer, New York Dick Durbin, Illinois Tom Udall, New Mexico Mark Warner, Virginia Patrick Leahy, Vermont Angus King, Maine [a] Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada

115th Congress

Majority	Minority
Roy Blunt, Missouri, Chair (from April 10, 2018) Thad Cochran, Mississippi (until April 1, 2018) Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Richard Shelby, Alabama, Chair (until April 10, 2018) Pat Roberts, Kansas Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Ted Cruz, Texas Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Roger Wicker, Mississippi Deb Fischer, Nebraska Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi	Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, California Chuck Schumer, New York Dick Durbin, Illinois Tom Udall, New Mexico Mark Warner, Virginia Patrick Leahy, Vermont Angus King, Maine [a] Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada

Source: "U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration". Senate rules committee website. Retrieved April 11, 2018.

114th Congress

Majority	Minority
Roy Blunt, Missouri, Chair [8] Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Thad Cochran, Mississippi Pat Roberts, Kansas Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Richard Shelby, Alabama Ted Cruz, Texas Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia John Boozman, Arkansas Roger Wicker, Mississippi	Chuck Schumer, New York, Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, California Dick Durbin, Illinois Tom Udall, New Mexico Mark Warner, Virginia Patrick Leahy, Vermont Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Angus King, Maine [a]

Source: 2013  Congressional Record, Vol. 159, Page  S296 to 297

Notes

1. Angus King is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

References

1. "Purpose and Jurisdiction | U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration". Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
2. "Purpose and Jurisdiction | U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration". Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
3. S.Res. 16 (119th Congress)
4. S.Res. 17 (119th Congress)
5. S.Res. 30 (118th Congress)
6. S.Res. 31 (118th Congress)
7. "Majority Leader Schumer Announces New Senate Democratic Committee Assignments". Senate Democrats. October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
8. "Blunt to chair US Senate rules committee". Ksdk.com. January 9, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.

External links

• Official site (Archive)
• Senate Rules and Administration Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States government .