The United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 has the authority for meeting in closed session, as described in the Standing Rules of the Senate.

The Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 and Constitutional Convention

Philadelphia Convention

The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from...

 met in secret. The Senate met in secret until 1794. The Senate’s executive sessions
(such as nominations and treaties) were not opened until 1929.

Standing Senate Rules XXI, XXIX, and XXXI cover secret sessions for legislative and executive business (nominations and treaties). Rule XXIX calls for Senate consideration of treaties to be conducted in secret unless a majority votes to lift the “injunction of secrecy,” which it usually does. Rule XXXI mandates that all nominations be considered in open session unless the Senate votes to do so in secret. Rule XXI calls for the Senate to close its doors once a motion is made and seconded. The motion is not debatable, and its disposition is made behind closed doors. All of a chamber’s normal rules of debate apply during secret sessions, except during impeachment deliberations in the Senate.

For Senate impeachment proceedings, Rules XX and XXIV of the Senate Rules for Impeachment Trials govern secret deliberations. The Senate has interpreted these rules to require closed deliberations during impeachment trials.

The proceedings of a secret session are not published unless the Senate votes, during the meeting or at a later time, to release them. Then, those portions released are printed in the Congressional Record

Congressional Record

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...

. If the Senate does not approve release of a secret session transcript, the transcript is stored in the Office of Senate Security and ultimately sent to the National Archives and Records Administration. The proceedings remain sealed until the Senate votes to remove the injunction of secrecy.

These sessions have been held 56 times since 1929. The following is a full list of those sessions, along with their dates and the reasons they were called:

Reason	Date(s)
Ratification of the New START Treaty	December 20, 2010
Impeachment trial of G. Thomas Porteous Jr. (final deliberation on verdict)	December 7, 2010 (5:45 pm-7:56pm)
The Plame affair Plame affair The Plame Affair involved the identification of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert Central Intelligence Agency officer. Mrs. Wilson's relationship with the CIA was formerly classified information...  and the Bush administration's George W. Bush administration The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...  role in pre-Iraq War intelligence (during debate on Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1995)	November 1, 2005 (2:25pm-4:43pm)
Impeachment of President Bill Clinton Impeachment of Bill Clinton Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...  (final deliberation on verdict)	February 9, 10, 11, 12, 1999
Impeachment of President Bill Clinton Impeachment of Bill Clinton Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...  (debate on motion to subpoena witnesses)	January 26, 1999 (4:29pm-8:01pm)
Impeachment of President Bill Clinton Impeachment of Bill Clinton Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...  (debate on motion to dismiss articles of impeachment)	January 25, 1999 (5:50pm-9:51pm)
Chemical Weapons Convention Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...	April 24, 1997
Most favored nation Most favoured nation In international economic relations and international politics, most favoured nation is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. The term means the country which is the recipient of this treatment must, nominally, receive equal trade advantages as the...  status for People's Republic of China	February 25, 1992
Impeachment Impeachment in the United States Impeachment in the United States is an expressed power of the legislature that allows for formal charges against a civil officer of government for crimes committed in office...  trial of Judge Walter Nixon Walter Nixon Walter Louis Nixon, Jr. is a former United States federal judge who was impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office by the Senate....	November 2, 1989
Impeachment trial of Judge Alcee Hastings Alcee Hastings Alcee Lamar Hastings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...	March 16 & October 19, 1989
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on May 27, 1988 and...	March 29, 1988
Impeachment trial of Judge Harry E. Claiborne Harry E. Claiborne Harry Eugene Claiborne was a United States district court judge who was impeached for tax evasion. He was only the fifth person in U.S. history to be removed from office through impeachment by the U.S...	October 7 (two sessions), 8 & 9, 1986
Defense Authorization Bill, ASAT Anti-satellite weapon Anti-satellite weapons are designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes. Currently, only the United States, the former Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China are known to have developed these weapons. On September 13, 1985, the United States destroyed US...	June 12, 1984
Soviet Union arms control compliance	February 1, 1984
U.S. support of the Contras Contras The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...  in Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...	April 26, 1983
Nominations of Richard Burt Richard Burt Richard R. Burt is an American businessman and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Germany and was a chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Prior to his diplomatic career, Burt worked as director of a non-governmental organization and was a correspondent for the New...  and Richard McCormack	February 16, 1983
United States/Soviet Union Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....  defense capabilities	May 4, 1982
Armed Forces personnel management	February 1, 1980
Selective Service System Selective Service System The Selective Service System is a means by which the United States government maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Most male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of...	September 21, 1979
Aircraft sales to Egypt Egypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... , Israel Israel The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... , and Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...	May 15, 1978
Torrijos-Carter Treaties Torrijos-Carter Treaties The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...  on the Panama Canal Panama Canal The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...	February 21 & 22, 1978
Neutron bomb Neutron bomb A neutron bomb or enhanced radiation weapon or weapon of reinforced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation rather than explosive energy...  funding	July 1, 1977
Defense Appropriations - Angola Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...	December 17 & 18, 1975
Intelligence Activities, alleged assassination plots involving foreign leaders	November 20, 1975
Defense Appropriations	June 4, 1975
Maneuverable reentry vehicle Maneuverable reentry vehicle The maneuverable reentry vehicle is a type of ballistic missile warhead capable of shifting targets in flight...	June 10, 1974
Trident submarine Ohio class submarine The Ohio class is a class of nuclear-powered submarines used by the United States Navy. The United States has 18 Ohio-class submarines:...	September 25, 1973
National Security Study	May 2 (two sessions) & 4, 1972
U.S. involvement in Laos Secret War The Laotian Civil War was a fight between the Communist Pathet Lao, often North Vietnamese of Lao ancestry, and the Royal Lao Government in which both the political rightists and leftists received heavy external support for a proxy war from the global Cold War superpowers...	June 7, 1971
Legislative Agenda for 91st Congress 91st United States Congress The Ninety-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1969 to January 3, 1971, during the first two years...	December 18, 1970
Legislative Agenda for 91st Congress 91st United States Congress The Ninety-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1969 to January 3, 1971, during the first two years...	September 10, 1970
Defense Appropriations	December 15, 1969
Defense Appropriations	July 17, 1969
Defense Appropriations	October 2, 1968
Committee on Intelligence Operations & Security Agency oversight	July 14, 1966
Nike-Zeus production	April 11, 1963
War front reports	October 7 & 8, 1943
Naval battleships and aircraft carrier Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations... s	June 26, 1942
Impeachment of Judge Halsted L. Ritter Halsted L. Ritter Halsted Lockwood Ritter was an American lawyer and judge. He served in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida but was impeached and removed from office, only the fourth official to be removed.-Early life and education:Ritter was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1868...	April 15 & 16, 1936
William MacCracken contempt proceedings	February 13 & 14, 1934
Investigation of ocean and air mail contracts Air Mail Scandal The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a congressional investigation of a 1930 meeting , between Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown and the executives of the top airlines, and to the disastrous...  involving William MacCracken and others	February 10, 1934
Impeachment of Judge Harold Louderback Harold Louderback Harold Louderback was a United States District Court judge from California. He was the eleventh federal official to be served with Articles of Impeachment and was ultimately acquitted of these charges....	May 24, 1933