The House and Senate Parliamentarians

For most of their history, the House and Senate relied on clerks who knew the rules to whisper advice to the presiding officer. The House formally created the post of Parliamentarian in 1927, and the Senate followed in 1935. Each chamber's Parliamentarian is appointed by its leadership, the Speaker in the House and the Secretary of the Senate with the approval of the Majority Leader in the Senate, and traditionally serves across changes in party control as a nonpartisan professional.

The Parliamentarians sit at the rostrum during sessions and advise the presiding officer on points of order, the germaneness of amendments, and the meaning of the rules. In the House the Parliamentarian also refers bills to committees on the Speaker's behalf. Both offices compile the precedents that guide future rulings, published in multivolume sets such as Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents in the House and Riddick's Senate Procedure. The presiding officer usually follows the Parliamentarian's advice, but the chamber can vote to overturn a ruling of the chair.

The Senate Parliamentarian's role is most consequential in budget reconciliation, where bills can pass with 51 votes instead of the 60 needed to end a filibuster but only if every provision meets the Byrd rule's budget-related tests. The Parliamentarian's rulings removed a minimum wage increase from a reconciliation bill in 2021 and struck several provisions from the 2025 reconciliation bill, prompting calls from some lawmakers to overrule or replace her. Supporters say a neutral referee protects minority rights and the Senate's rules, while critics say an unelected staff member should not decide what the majority can pass.