Parliamentarian of the United States Senate


The Parliamentarian of the United States Senate is the official advisor to the United States Senate on the interpretation of Standing Rules of the United States Senate and parliamentary procedure.
As the Presiding Officer of the Senate may not be, and usually isn't, aware of the parliamentary situation currently facing the Senate, a parliamentary staff sits second from the left on the Senate dais to advise the Presiding Officer on how to respond to inquiries and motions from Senators. The role of the parliamentary staff is advisory, and the Presiding Officer may overrule the advice of the parliamentarian. In practice this is rare, and the most recent example of a Vice President overruling the parliamentarian was Nelson Rockefeller in 1975.

Overview

An important role of the parliamentarian is to decide what can and cannot be done under the Senate's Reconciliation process under the provisions of the Byrd Rule. These rulings are important because they allow certain bills to be approved by a simple majority, instead of the sixty votes needed to end debate and block a filibuster. A meeting to screen a draft bill by the Parliamentarian Office staff in the presence of Republican and Democratic staff is sometimes informally termed a Byrd Bath.
The office also refers bills to the appropriate committees on behalf of the Senate's Presiding Officer, and referees efforts by the ruling party to change the Senate rules by rulings from the chair. The parliamentarian is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Senate Majority Leader. Traditionally, the parliamentarian is chosen from senior staff in the parliamentarian office, which helps ensure consistency in the application of the Senate's complex rules. The last two parliamentarians have served under both Republican and Democratic Senate rule.
The Parliamentarian's current salary is $171,315 per year.

History

The current parliamentarian is Elizabeth MacDonough, who has held the office since 2012, and was appointed by then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The following people have served as Senate Parliamentarian:
YearsParliamentarian
1935–64Charles Watkins
1964–74Floyd Riddick
1974–81Murray Zweben
1981–87Robert Dove
1987–95Alan Frumin
1995–2001Robert Dove
2001–12Alan Frumin
2012–presentElizabeth MacDonough