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United State Senate

United States Senate
115th United States Congress
Coat of arms or logo
Flag of the United States Senate
Flag of the U.S. Senate
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 3, 2017 (2017-01-03)
Leadership
Mike Pence (R)
Since January 20, 2017
Orrin Hatch (R)
Since January 3, 2015
Mitch McConnell (R)
Since January 3, 2015
Chuck Schumer (D)
Since January 3, 2017
John Cornyn (R)
Since January 3, 2015
Dick Durbin (D)
Since January 3, 2015
Structure
Seats 100
115th United States Senate.svg
Political groups
Majority (52)
Minority (48)
Length of term
6 years
Elections
Plurality
Last election
November 8, 2016
Next election
November 6, 2018
Meeting place
111th US Senate class photo.jpg
Senate chamber
United States Capitol
Washington, D.C., United States
Website
www.senate.gov

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, composes 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 who represent each of the several states, with each state being equally represented by two senators, regardless of their population, serving staggered terms of six years; with fifty states presently in the Union, there are 100 U.S. Senators. From 1789 until 1913, Senators were appointed by the legislatures of the states they represented; following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, they are now popularly elected. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.

As the upper house, the Senate has several powers of advice and consent which are unique to it; of these include the ratification of treaties, the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, other federal executive officials, flag officers, regulatory officials, ambassadors, and other federal uniformed officers. In addition to these, in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for Vice President, the duty befalls upon the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office. It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House. The Senate is widely considered both a more deliberative and more prestigious body than the House of Representatives due to its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere.


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