Ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party.[1] 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[2] and United States House of Representatives[3] use ranking members as part of their legislative structure. When party control of a legislative chamber changes, a committee's ranking member generally becomes chairman, and vice versa.[4]
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.[5]
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
- ^ "Politics Glossary: ranking member". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Glossary Term | Ranking Minority Member". www.senate.gov. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ Singman, Brooke (February 5, 2020). "Who are the House committee chairs?". Fox News. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ "Chairs in the House of Representatives". Leadership Connect. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ^ "United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs: Home". Banking.senate.gov. Retrieved October 18, 2013.