The Republican and Democratic Parties' conferences in the United States Senate each elect one leader to serve as spokesperson for their party's Senate caucus and to schedule and manage the legislative and executive duties of the Senate. These two Senators are known as the Majority and Minority Leaders, depending on which party controls the chamber numerically.
The position of party leader was created by the Democrats in 1920 when Senator Oscar Underwood of Alabama became the Senate's first Minority Leader. Republican Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts served as his counterpart, performing the duties which would attach to a party leader; however, the Republicans did not officially elect a leader until Lodge's death in 1924, at which point Charles Curtis of Kansas became the first formal Senate Majority Leader.
By the Senate's floor rules, the Majority Leader is to be given priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the Senate floor. However, serving as a party leader has no effect on a senator's seniority.
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