ranking member
{{Short description|Senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee}}
In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party.{{cite news |url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/politicsglossary/Congressional/ranking-member/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701083132/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/politicsglossary/Congressional/ranking-member/ |archive-date=July 1, 2011 |title=Politics Glossary: ranking member |newspaper=The Washington Post}} On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ex officio members of all of the committee's subcommittees.
Both the United States Senate{{Cite web|title=U.S. Senate: Glossary Term {{!}} Ranking Minority Member|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/ranking_minority_member.htm|access-date=2021-01-03|website=www.senate.gov}} and United States House of Representatives{{Cite web|last=Singman|first=Brooke|date=2020-02-05|title=Who are the House committee chairs?|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/who-are-the-house-committee-chairs|access-date=2021-01-03|website=Fox News|language=en-US}} use ranking members as part of their legislative structure.
When party control of a legislative chamber changes, a committee's ranking minority member is generally ensured to become the next chairman of the committee, and vice versa.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}
Congressional usage
Four Senate committees refer to the ranking minority member as vice chairman. The following committees follow the chairman/vice chairman structure for the majority and minority parties.
- Senate Committee on Appropriations
- Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
- Senate Select Committee on Ethics
- Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Other Senate committees refer to the ranking minority members as ranking member.{{cite web|url=http://banking.senate.gov/public/ |title=United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs: Home |publisher=Banking.senate.gov |access-date=2013-10-18}}
The House of Representatives normally does not use the term vice chairman for the ranking minority member, though some committees do have a vice-chairman position, usually assigned to a senior member of the majority party other than the chairman. House committees that follow this structure are:
- House Committee on Agriculture
- House Committee on Appropriations
- House Committee on the Budget
- House Committee on Education and the Workforce
- House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- House Committee on Financial Services
- House Committee on Government Reform
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- House Committee on Resources
- House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (subcommittees only)
The position of vice chair as the designation for the ranking minority member has been used for the House January 6 Committee.
Joint committees of the House and Senate operate in much the same way, with a chairman and vice-chairman from the majority party, alternating between a member of the House and a member of the Senate, and often two ranking members from both bodies.
References
{{reflist}}
{{United States Congress}}
Category:Committees of the United States Congress
Category:Leaders of the United States Congress
Category:Terminology of the United States Congress
{{US-Congress-stub}}