#65: CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch

Q&A #65: What are the customary proceedings when the Senate meets?

Mar 19, 2025

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

Congressional Rules and Procedures

Q&A #65: What are the customary proceedings when the Senate meets?

The initial proceedings of the Senate are similar. The Senate is called to order by the Vice President, the President pro tempore, or another Senator serving as acting President pro tempore.

After a prayer, the pledge of allegiance and the approval of the Journal, the Majority and Minority Leaders are recognized in turn for brief periods to speak or to transact routine business. Other Senators then may speak, on matters of interest to them, for no longer than five minutes each. If the Senate had adjourned at the end of its previous meeting, a two-hour period, known as the ‘‘morning hour’’ is held, for disposing of routine and noncontroversial matters. If the Senate had recessed instead, which is the usual practice, there is no ‘‘morning hour’’ and the Senate proceeds instead to consider matters of legislative or executive business under its normal rules of procedure.

My Thoughts

Recall that the President of the Senate pro tempore is the sitting Vice President. You can read more about his role in our Q&A #31: Who presides over the Senate?