Senate Floor Privileges: History and Current Practice

Senate Standing Rule XXIII, Privilege of the Floor, designates those individuals afforded access to the Senate floor while the Senate is in session. In addition to sitting Senators, the rule lists several eligible positions, including certain current and former congressional, executive, and judicial officials; state and territorial governors; the mayor of the District of Columbia; members of foreign national legislatures; the nation’s highest ranking military leaders; and, under specified circumstances, congressional staff members assisting Senators on the floor. Over its history, the Senate has amended the floor privilege rule to add or clarify positional categories. The Senate has also agreed to a number of resolutions and unanimous consent (UC) agreements that affect the interpretation of the rule. The Senate, by resolution or UC, frequently provides temporary floor access to non-designated individuals. Less commonly, it has agreed to temporarily restrict access to the Senate floor. Such restrictions have occurred in advance of the Senate’s move to its current chamber in 1859 and during the impeachment trials of Presidents Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1999), and Donald Trump (2020 and 2021). In 2007, the Senate amended Rule XXIII to exclude lobbyists from the floor, even if these individuals would otherwise be granted floor privileges under the rule. Additional changes to the rule or its interpretation include the first time a female staff member accessed the Senate floor (1946); when the Senate agreed to resolutions to accommodate staff with disabilities (e.g., allow the use of a service dog in the chamber, 1997); and when it permitted Senators, accompanied by their infant children, to vote on the Senate floor (2018). Rule XXIII permits certain staff members of individual Senators and Senate committees and joint committees to have access to the floor “when in the discharge of their official duties.” Staff access is further regulated by policies outlined in a recurring UC agreement approved at the start of each Congress, as well as those policies established by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. For instance, each Senator is limited to two staff members on the floor at the same time. UC agreements may provide access to individuals not listed in Rule XXIII or enable more than two staff members from the same Senate office on the floor at one time. The Office of the Sergeant at Arms (SAA) enforces Senate Rule XXIII, as well as any associated resolutions or UC agreements, regarding floor access.