#35: CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch

Q&A #35: What are the duties of the "Whips" of the Congress?

Our American Government

Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.

The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.

Think of it as your adult Civics class but without the test!

Let’s keep at it.

SECTION: The Legislative Branch: The Congress

Members, Offices, and Staff

Q&A #35: What are the duties of the “Whips” of Congress?

The Whips (of the majority and minority parties) keep track of all politically important legislation and endeavor to have all members of their party present when important measures are to be voted upon.

When a vote appears to be close, the Whips contact absent Members of their party and advise them of the vote. The Whips assist the leadership in managing the party’s legislative program on the floor of the Chambers and provide information to party Members about important legislative-related matters. The authority of the Whipes over party Members is informal; in the U.S. Congress, a Member may vote against the position supported by a majority of the Member’s party colleagues because of personal opposition or because of opposition evident within his or her constituency. In most cases, parties take no disciplinary action against colleagues who vote against the party position.

The Majority and Minority Whips in the House and Senate are elected by party Members in that Chamber. In the House, with its larger number of Members, the Majority and Minority Whips appoint deputy whips to assist them in their activities.

My Thoughts

Here’s an interesting explanation of the origins and history of the term “whip” in politics taken from the Senate’s website…

Both party conferences in the Senate elect whips. The term "whip" comes from a fox-hunting expression—"whipper-in"—referring to the member of the hunting team responsible for keeping the dogs from straying from the team during a chase. Traditionally serving as assistant leaders, whips are mainly responsible for counting heads and rounding up party members for votes and quorum calls, and they occasionally stand in for the majority or minority leaders in their absence.

Established early in the 20th century, the whip position has undergone changes within both party conferences. Democrat James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois became the first party whip when he was elected to the position in 1913. Two years later the Republicans elected James W. Wadsworth to serve as both party secretary and whip. Soon after, however, the conference elected Charles Curtis as whip while Wadsworth remained as secretary. In 1921 the Republicans changed the title to “vice chairman and whip,” but in 1924 they separated the two positions, allowing the conference to elect the vice chairman (sometimes styled the “vice chairman and assistant floor leader”) and giving the party floor leader the authority to appoint the whip.

In 1935, with only 25 members, the Republican Conference chose not to employ a whip or a vice chair/assistant leader. When the Republicans brought back the whip position in 1944, they did away with the separate position of assistant floor leader. In 1970 Republicans began referring to their whips as assistant leaders, but in 2003 they again reverted to the whip title. Democrats, meanwhile, used the title whip until 2003, when they began calling the position assistant leader. They reverted back to the title of whip in 2013. In 2017 Democrats created a new position of assistant leader, which is separate from and ranks directly below the position of whip.

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Back next time with Q&A #36: What are party caucuses or party conferences and party committees?

Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.

xo,

Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team

January 8, 2025