The Constitution (Article 1, Section 3) requires the Senate to elect a president pro tempore (pro tempore is a Latin phrase meaning “for the time being”) to serve as presiding officer when the Vice President is absent. The president pro tempore can preside over the Senate, swear in senators, and sign legislation. Originally, when Vice Presidents presided daily over the Senate, presidents pro tempore were elected to serve only during a particular absence of the Vice President or for the duration of the term of a Vice President who died in office or succeeded to the Presidency. In the 5th Congress (1797–99), for instance, the Senate elected five different presidents pro tem. To give the office more continuity, in 1890 the Senate changed the term of president pro tempore to last until another was elected, so the term might last for several Congresses. During the 20th century the Senate began electing the senior member of the majority party as president pro tem, to hold the office until he retired or his party lost the majority.
Since modern Vice Presidents generally appear in the Senate only for ceremonial occasions or to break tie votes, the president pro tem opens each session and then assigns junior senators in the majority party to take rotating turns presiding during the day's session. The president pro tempore also stands third in line, behind the Vice President and Speaker of the House, in the order of Presidential succession.
See also Officers of the House and Senate; Vice President
Sources
- Robert C. Byrd, “The President Pro Tempore”, in The Senate, 1789–1989
Addresses on the History of the United States Senate ,vol. 2 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1991)
