The framers of the Constitution created the United States Senate to protect the rights of individual states and safeguard minority opinion in a system of government designed to give greater power to the national government.

The Constitution prescribes that the Senate be composed of two senators from each State (therefore, the Senate currently has 100 Members) and that a senator must be at least thirty years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be a resident of the State from which he or she …

Since the U.S. Congress convened on March 4, 1789, 12,415 individuals have served as Representatives, Senators, or in both capacities. There have been 10,421 Members who served only as Representatives, 1,314 Members who served only in the Senate, and 680 Members with service in both chambers.

January 3, 2001: 107th Congress officially begins, with the Senate split 50-50. Democrat Al Gore — the outgoing Vice President — briefly gives the Democrats the tie breaker and majority control.

According to the U.S. Senate, as of April 21, 2021, a tie-breaking vote had been cast 272 times by 37 vice presidents. The following is the list of tie-breaking votes cast by vice presidents of the United States.

The Senate Republican and Democratic floor leaders are elected by the members of their party in the Senate at the beginning of each Congress. Depending on which party is in power, one serves as majority leader and the other as minority leader. The leaders serve as spokespersons for their party’s positions on issues.

It is difficult to discuss an evenly divided Senate without at least a passing reference to the Great Senate Deadlock of 1881. When the Senate of the 47th Congress convened on March 4, 1881, its members included thirty-seven Republicans, thirty-seven Democrats, and two independents.

“The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided” (U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 3). Since 1789, 272 tie-breaking votes have been cast.

1880 and 1881 United States Senate elections

1920 United States Senate elections

January 3, 2021: 117th Congress officially begins, with Democrats controlling the House, and Republicans in charge of the Senate.

The Democratic Party won a majority in both chambers, giving them full control of Congress for the first time since the 103rd Congress in 1993, which was also the last time they controlled the House.

Congress Overview Republicans regained control of both the House and Senate after the 1918 elections. President Woodrow Wilson’s dream for a League of Nations died when the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I, failed in the 66th Congress (1919–1921).

Congress Overview Republicans retained control of Congress and captured the White House after the 1920 election. The 67th Congress (1921–1923) addressed the consequences of World War I by establishing the Veterans’ Bureau and setting country-by-country quotas to regulate immigration.

1918 United States elections

Woodrow Wilson

Term. Senators serve terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the seats are up for election every two years.

U.S. Senate seniority list

Mitch McConnell

Following is a list of United States Supreme Court Justices who also served in Congress. Since the United States Supreme Court was established in 1789, 114 persons have served on the Court….Senators.

The Constitution sets three qualifications for service in the U.S. Senate: age (at least thirty years of age); U.S. citizenship (at least nine years); and residency in the state a senator represents at time of election.

Education. The Congressional Research Service notes that the vast majority of Members (95 percent) had an academic degree: 168 Representatives and 57 Senators had a law degree. Five Representatives (but no Senators) have an associate’s degree as their highest degree.

President of the Senate: Vice President of the United States Under the Constitution, the vice president serves as the president of the Senate and presides over the Senate’s daily proceedings. In the absence of the vice president, the Senate’s president pro tempore (and others designated by them) presides.