Majority leader

In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

In the federal Congress, the role of the Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and the Majority Leader of the United States Senate differ slightly. In the United States Senate, the majority leader is the chief spokesperson for the majority party, as the president of the Senate is also the Vice-President of the United States, and the President pro tempore is a largely ceremonial position.

In the United States House of Representatives, the majority leader is elected by U.S. Congressmen in the political party holding the largest number of seats in the House. While the responsibilities vary depending upon the political climate, the Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives typically sets the floor agenda and oversees the committee chairmen.

Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the majority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat.

Majority

A majority is the greater part, or more than half, of the total. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements.

"Majority" can be used to specify the voting requirement, as in a "majority vote". A majority vote is more than half of the votes cast.

A majority can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset considered. A plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset considered may consist of less than half the set's elements. This can occur when there are three or more possible choices.

In British English the term majority is also alternatively used to refer to the winning margin, i.e. the number of votes separating the first-place finisher from the second-place finisher.

Other related terms containing the word "majority" have their own meanings, which may sometimes be inconsistent in usage.

Explanation

A majority is the greater part, or more than half, of the total. For example, say a group consists of 20 individuals. In this case, a majority would be 11 or more individuals. For this group, having 10 or fewer individuals would not constitute a majority.

Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives

Party leaders and whips of the United States House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. The U.S. House of Representatives does not officially use the term "Minority Leader" although the media frequently does. The House instead uses the terms "Republican Leader" or "Democratic Leader" depending on which party holds a minority of seats.

The current party leaders are: Majority (Republican) Leader Kevin McCarthy, Majority (Republican) Whip Steve Scalise, Minority (Democratic) Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Minority (Democratic) Whip Steny Hoyer.

Job description

Unlike in Westminster style legislatures or as with the Senate Majority Leader, the House Majority Leader's duties and prominence vary depending upon the style and power of the Speaker of the House. Typically, the Speaker does not participate in debate and rarely votes on the floor. In some cases, Majority Leaders have been more influential than the Speaker; notably Tom DeLay who was more prominent than Speaker Dennis Hastert. In addition, Speaker Newt Gingrich delegated to Dick Armey an unprecedented level of authority over scheduling legislation on the House floor.

Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy may refer to:

Politicians

Others

See also

House

A house is a building that functions as a home, ranging from simple dwellings such as rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes and the improvised shacks in shantytowns to complex, fixed structures of wood, brick, marble or other materials containing plumbing, ventilation and electrical systems. Most conventional modern houses in Western cultures will contain a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or cooking area, and a living room. In traditional agriculture-oriented societies, domestic animals such as chickens or larger livestock (like cattle) may share part of the house with humans. The social unit that lives in a house is known as a household. Most commonly, a household is a family unit of some kind, although households may also be other social groups or individuals. The design and structure of the house is also subject to change as a consequence of globalization, urbanization and other social, economic, demographic, and technological reasons. Various other cultural factors also influence the building style and patterns of domestic space.