The Parliamentarian

Parliamentarian (consultant)

A parliamentarian is an expert on parliamentary procedure who advises organizations and deliberative assemblies. This sense of the term "parliamentarian" is distinct from the usage of the same term to mean a member of Parliament....

 of the United States Senate is the official advisor to 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...

 on the interpretation of Standing Rules of the United States Senate

Standing Rules of the United States Senate

The Standing Rules of the Senate are the rules of order adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings..."There are...

 and parliamentary procedure

Parliamentary procedure

Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...

.

As the Presiding Officer

Presiding Officer of the United States Senate

The Presiding Officer is the person who presides over the United States Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents...

 of the Senate may not be fully aware of the parliamentary situation currently facing the Senate, staff from the Senate Parliamentarian's office sit on the Senate dais

Dais

Dais is any raised platform located either in or outside of a room or enclosure, often for dignified occupancy, as at the front of a lecture hall or sanctuary....

 to advise the Presiding Officer on how to respond to inquiries and motions from Senators. The role of the parliamentary staff is strictly advisory; the Presiding Officer is in no way required to follow their advice, though they almost always do so. The office also refers bills to the appropriate committees on behalf of the Senate's Presiding Officer. If facing the dais, the Parliamentarian is the second from the left.

The current parliamentarian is Alan Frumin

Alan Frumin

-Career:A 1968 graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York and Georgetown University Law Center, Frumin's entire career has been devoted to "directing parliamentary practice." He began in 1974 by editing Deschler's Precedents of the House of Representatives before joining the Senate...

, preceded by Robert Dove

Robert Dove

Robert B. Dove is a former Parliamentarian of the United States Senate and a professor of political science at George Washington University.He joined the Parliamentarian's office in 1966...

, who was Parliamentarian in the mid-to-late 1990s. Frumin also preceded him in the late-1980s as Parliamentarian, insofar as they switched positions as the Parliamentarian and the second most senior parliamentarian due to changes in partisan control over the Senate. The first female assistant parliamentarian of the United States Senate was Gail M. Cowper in the early 1980s.

There are three Senior Assistant Parliamentarians: Elizabeth MacDonough, Peter Robinson and Leigh Hildebrand. They have one Assistant Parliamentarian: Michael Beaver. They also have a Parliamentary Assistant: Melissa Carmichael.

Parliamentarians

Five people have served as Senate Parliamentarian:

Years	Parliamentarian
1937–1964	Charles Watkins
1964–1974	Floyd Riddick
1974–1981	Murray Zweben
1981–1987	Robert Dove Robert Dove Robert B. Dove is a former Parliamentarian of the United States Senate and a professor of political science at George Washington University.He joined the Parliamentarian's office in 1966...
1987–1995	Alan Frumin Alan Frumin -Career:A 1968 graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York and Georgetown University Law Center, Frumin's entire career has been devoted to "directing parliamentary practice." He began in 1974 by editing Deschler's Precedents of the House of Representatives before joining the Senate...
1995–2001	Robert Dove Robert Dove Robert B. Dove is a former Parliamentarian of the United States Senate and a professor of political science at George Washington University.He joined the Parliamentarian's office in 1966...
2001–present	Alan Frumin Alan Frumin -Career:A 1968 graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York and Georgetown University Law Center, Frumin's entire career has been devoted to "directing parliamentary practice." He began in 1974 by editing Deschler's Precedents of the House of Representatives before joining the Senate...