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grantcart

(53,061 posts)
35. It is astonishing that people become so invested in defending facts that can be found easily
Sat Aug 1, 2020, 10:13 PM
Aug 2020

within minutes.

A few known facts:

2 + 2 = 4

Presidential/Vice Presidential Terms are 4 years

House of Representative Terms are 2 years

Senate terms are 6 years

The House of Representatives and the Senate formally constitute a legal body called "the Congress" for exactly 2 years.

The officers of both the Senate and the House last exactly 2 years with one exception, the Vice President.

It is true that certain traditions in the Senate are continuous but we are not talking about those esoteric ones. This thread is about the Officers of the Senate having continuous standing.

This is undiluted bull, without any basis of fact and easily proven.

It is true Robert Byrd was President Pro Tem of the Senate. He served in that position for 2 and 1/2 years. It was not a single election that he continued in.

On Jan 3 2007 he was elected to a 2 year term to that office.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/110th_United_States_Congress
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
Senate President Dick Cheney (R)
Senate President pro tem Robert Byrd (D)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D)


On Jan 3rd Robert Byrd's term as President pro tem ended.

The 111th Congress admitted its new members and with the change in membership a new election was held, as it has been done for 222 years to elect new officers.

Senator Byrd was then elected President pro tem of the 112th Congress until he died in 2010



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/111th_United_States_Congress

January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Senate President Dick Cheney (R),
(until January 20, 2009)
Joe Biden (D),
(from January 20, 2009)
Senate President pro tem Robert Byrd (D),
(until June 28, 2010)
Daniel Inouye (D)
(from June 28, 2010)[1]




The only office in the Senate that is not voted on for a new term on January 3rd of every odd year is the Vice President which has its own Constitutionally defined term.


The reason that many people misunderstand the term of the Senate (not Senators but the Senate) and the House of Representatives goes to a basic misunderstanding of the word "Congress". Because it has become common for people to address Representatives to the House as "Congressman" or "Congresswoman" it has become common to think that the word Congress is a substitute for the House of Representatives.

It is not

The Constitution defines Congress as:



Article 1
Section 1: Congress
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.



People talk about Congress but there has never been a continuing meeting of Congress, each Congress (both Senate and the House) are reconstituted every 2 years. Each Congress is separate.

There is an obvious reason why Senate Officers elected by Senators must be elected upon the enrollment of each Congress: 1/3 of the members are newly elected, so it makes sense that all of the members, new and old would have a voice in the election of the officers.

As stated at the beginning this is an issue that is well documented, and is without debate.

With Each Congress the Senate elects new officers (except for the Vice President)

Here are a list





January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021


Senate President
Mike Pence (R)

Senate President pro tem
Chuck Grassley (R)

House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D)

The 116th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and will end on January 3, 2021,




It is a fixed term. Even Pence's term is fixed. When he is defeated his term as Senate President will end on Jan 20, 2021. It is in black and white.

Here is a comprehensive list of the officers of the 117th Congress




Listed alphabetically by party, until majorities are determined. Note: Democrats refer to themselves as a "Caucus," Republicans refer to themselves as a "Conference."





Senate President
Mike Pence (R), at least until January 20, 2021President: Mike Pence (R), at least until January 20, 2021
President pro tempore: TBD
President pro tempore emeritus: TBD

Democratic leadership​[edit]
Democratic Leader: TBD
Democratic Whip: TBD
Assistant Democratic Leader: TBD
Chief Deputy Whip: TBD
Deputy Whips: TBD
Caucus Chair: TBD
Policy Committee Chair: TBD
Caucus Vice Chairs: TBD
Caucus Secretary: TBD
Campaign Committee Chair: TBD
Policy Committee Vice Chair: TBD
Steering Committee Chair: TBD
Outreach Chair: TBD
Steering and Outreach Committee Vice Chair: TBD

Republican leadership​[edit]
Republican Leader: TBD
Assistant Republican Leader (Republican Whip): TBD
Chief Deputy Whip: TBD
Deputy Whips: TBD
Conference Chairman: TBD
Conference Vice Chair: TBD
Campaign Committee Chair: TBD
Policy Committee Chairman: TBD

Party leaders​[edit]

House of Representatives​[edit]

Listed alphabetically by party, until majorities are determined.
Speaker: TBD

Democratic leadership​[edit]
Democratic Leader: TBD
Democratic Whip: TBD
Assistant Democratic Leader: TBD
Senior Chief Deputy Democratic Whip: TBD
Chief Deputy Democratic Whips: TBD
Caucus Chairman: TBD
Caucus Vice-Chairman: TBD
Campaign Committee Chairman: TBD
Steering and Policy Committee Co-Chairs: TBD
Organization, Study, and Review Chairman: TBD
Policy and Communications Chairman: TBD

Republican leadership​[edit]
Republican Leader: TBD
Republican Whip: TBD
Republican Chief Deputy Whip: TBD
Senior Deputy Whips: TBD
Conference Chair: TBD
Conference Vice-Chair: TBD
Conference Secretary: TBD
Campaign Committee Chairman: TBD
Policy Committee Chairman: TBD




Here are the exact parameters of the 117th Congress



The 117th United States Congress is the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2021 to January 3, 2023. The elections of November 2020 will decide control of both houses.



The reason that all but one of the offices are TBD is because there is "NO CARRY OVER" of any office in either the Senate or the House.

As to the general nonsense of the Senate being "a continuous body", this tripe has been handed out by Senators like Byrd who wanted to create a myth of the Senate as "the greatest deliberative body in the world".

It is not

And it is not continuous, because if it were then Grassley and McConnell would continue in their positions and they will not.

This self mythologizing of Senators by Senators has been thoroughly destroyed in peer publications, you should find this well received peer review article useful on they myth of a continuous Senate.


Burying the Continuing Body Theory of the Senate by Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl William & Mary Law School


https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2805&context=facpubs


That's how it's done wryter2000 Jul 2020 #1
President Pelosi I_UndergroundPanther Jul 2020 #2
+1000 Thekaspervote Jul 2020 #3
he isn't rational anymore just simply desperate Roc2020 Jul 2020 #4
Love it. K&R crickets Jul 2020 #5
It wouldn't be President Pelosi. patphil Jul 2020 #6
After January 3rd disambiguation Jul 2020 #7
To play along here, any Democratic majority in that scenario may be fleeting. tritsofme Jul 2020 #12
No matter who's right in this sub-thread, it's clear that the actual outcome would be total chaos. Towlie Jul 2020 #23
The "technical majority" would pass new Senate Rules by a majority vote grantcart Jul 2020 #27
The Senate is a continuing body. Absent a new organizing resolution tritsofme Jul 2020 #28
The Senate is not now, nor has it ever been "a continuing body" a common misconception grantcart Jul 2020 #29
The Senate is most certainly a continuing body. tritsofme Jul 2020 #33
It is astonishing that people become so invested in defending facts that can be found easily grantcart Aug 2020 #35
Real world examples are illustrative. Following the 2002 election, Republicans retook the Senate tritsofme Aug 2020 #36
Checking the actual Senator resolution I find that your rendering of the term of President Pro Tem grantcart Aug 2020 #37
There WILL be an election. Trump may challenge the result of the Presidential votes in a lawsuit louzke9 Jul 2020 #8
She is still Speaker until a new Speaker is chosen dansolo Jul 2020 #19
Incorrect. She is the Speaker of the 116th Congress. grantcart Jul 2020 #30
CA would still have an election and Pelosi would have been reelected Tumbulu Jul 2020 #21
Patphil, I agree only that on Jan 3 we'd see high drama in Hortensis Jul 2020 #25
And, here's a tweet for those who want to Rt.. Cha Jul 2020 #9
Eugene Gu, MD should delete that because it's wrong. Mariana Jul 2020 #10
Oh dear.. :( I guess he didn't think of that.. So who would Cha Jul 2020 #11
President pro tempore of the Senate is next. Mariana Jul 2020 #13
Thanks. Depressing. Cha Jul 2020 #14
President Patrick Leahy GigiLeigh Jul 2020 #15
Interesting article, thanks for posting, and welcome to DU! Rhiannon12866 Jul 2020 #16
I see that, first time poster.. You did great, GigiLeigh! Cha Jul 2020 #17
Thanks. Glad to be here! GigiLeigh Jul 2020 #18
I'm glad he's not 1/10th the genius he thinks he is. marble falls Jul 2020 #24
One TENTH?? AZ8theist Jul 2020 #32
The Speaker isn't required to be a member dansolo Jul 2020 #20
Plus if CA has its election Speaker Pelosi will be relected Tumbulu Jul 2020 #22
Thanks, I was wondering about that.. why would states Cha Jul 2020 #31
K&R UTUSN Jul 2020 #26
This message was self-deleted by its author marie999 Aug 2020 #34
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