Presiding Officer of the United States Senate

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The presiding officer of the United States Senate is the person who presides over the United States Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices, and precedents. Senate presiding officer is a role, not an actual office. The actual role is usually performed by one of three officials: the vice president of the United States; an elected United States senator; or, under certain circumstances, the chief justice of the United States. Outside the constitutionally mandated roles, the actual appointment of a person to do the job of presiding over the Senate as a body is governed by Rule I of the Standing Rules.

The United States Constitution establishes the vice president as president of the Senate, with the authority to cast a tie-breaking vote. Early vice presidents took an active role in regularly presiding over proceedings of the body, with the president pro tempore only being called on during the vice president's absence. During the 20th century, the role of the vice president evolved into more of an executive branch position. Now, the vice president is usually seen as an integral part of a president's administration and presides over the Senate only on ceremonial occasions or when a tie-breaking vote may be needed. It is now often used as one of the forms of checks and balances by the executive branch to the legislative.^[1]

The Constitution also provides for the selection of a president pro tempore of the Senate, to preside when the vice president is absent from the body (as the meaning of pro tempore, literally "for the time being"). The Constitution does not specify who can serve in this position, but the Senate has always elected one of its current members. By tradition, the position is given more-or-less automatically to the most senior senator of the majority party. In actual practice in the modern Senate, the president pro tempore also does not often serve in the role (though it is their constitutional right to do so). Instead, as governed by Rule I, they frequently designate a junior senator to preside.

When the Senate hears an impeachment trial of the incumbent president of the United States, by the procedure established in the Constitution, the chief justice presides.