President pro tempore of the United States Senate

In the United States, the President pro tempore of the Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the upper house of Congress, the Senate. The Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate ex officio; the President pro tempore presides during his absence. The current President pro tempore of the Senate is Ted Stevens, a Republican senator from Alaska, who has held the office since January 3, 2003.

Power and responsibilities

The President pro tempore is a constitutionally mandated office of the Senate. Although in some ways equivalent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the powers of the President pro tempore are far more limited. In the Senate, most power rests with party leaders and individual senators. The President pro tempore represents the Senate at formal events and, in the absence of the Vice President, presides over the Senate and, with the Speaker of the House, over joint sessions of Congress. Due to the high visibility of joint sessions, they are one of very few instances in modern times where the Vice President does make an effort to attend and preside, so Presidents pro tempore rarely have the opportunity to preside at a joint session. The last such event occurred on September 13, 2001, when President George W. Bush made a special address to a joint session of U.S. Congress regarding the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. Senator Robert Byrd, the President pro tempore at the time, took the place of Vice President Dick Cheney, who was still under Secret Service and military protection as a precaution against an attempt on President Bush's life.

Related Topics:
Speaker of the House of Representatives - Joint sessions - September 13 - 2001 - George W. Bush - September 11th Terrorist Attacks - Robert Byrd - Dick Cheney - Secret Service

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From June 6, 2001 until January 3, 2003, Senator Strom Thurmond was given the honorary title of President pro tempore Emeritus.

Related Topics:
June 6 - 2001 - January 3 - 2003 - Strom Thurmond

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The President pro tempore, together with the Speaker of the House, is the authority to which declarations of presidential inability are transmitted in accordance with the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.

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The President pro tempore is third in the line of presidential succession, following the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.

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