The vice president of the United States holds the position of president of the Senate in the United States. Despite what his title suggests, the office has relatively few responsibilities in practice. Casting votes in ties and occasionally presiding over the Senate in a ceremonial capacity are the main responsibilities. When the Senate’s president is absent — which happens frequently — an elected figure known as the president pro tempore takes over.
The president of the Senate has a number of important powers, including the ability to cast deciding votes. Only when the results of a Senate vote on a given issue are evenly split, 50-50, is this prerogative exercised. If the officeholder is present, he or she may vote to resolve the matter. In a tie, the motion fails if he or she is not present. This person is only allowed to vote if the Senate has reached a tie.
The Senate’s president occasionally preside over ceremonial events. He or she might, for example, be present when new senators are sworn in. He or she may also preside on occasions when the Senate and House of Representatives meet together for a joint discussion or to hear the president of the United States deliver a speech. Joint sessions are the name for these gatherings.
Because the president of the Senate also serves as the vice president of the United States, he or she is frequently distracted executive duties and thus unable to preside over a significant portion of Senate business. As a result, the president pro tempore frequently assumes control of the Senate’s daily operations. This includes things like announcing vote results and inviting senators to speak. Despite the fact that the president pro tempore must be elected in a Senate election, he or she is usually the longest-serving member of the Senate majority party.
The president pro tempore frequently delegated these daily responsibilities to junior senators from the majority party, who preside over the Senate for brief periods. They will gain a valuable working knowledge of Senate policies and procedures as a result of this experience.