View source for Senate Republican Conference

{{short description|Formal organization of Republican U.S. senators}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Senate Republican Conference
| logo             = Republican Disc.svg
| colorcode        = {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}
| leader1_title    = Part of
| leader1_name     = [[United States Senate]]
| leader2_title    = Floor Leader
| leader2_name     = [[John Thune]] ([[South Dakota|SD]])
| leader3_title    = Floor Whip
| leader3_name     = [[John Barrasso]] ([[Wyoming|WY]])
| leader4_title    = [[Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference|Chair]]
| leader4_name     = [[Tom Cotton]] ([[Arkansas|AR]])
| leader5_title    = [[Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference|Vice Chair]]
| leader5_name     = [[James Lankford]] ([[Oklahoma|OK]])
| affiliation1_title = Affiliation
| affiliation1     = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]
| seats1_title     = Seats
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|53|100|{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}}}
| colors           = {{color box|{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}}} Red
| position         = [[Right-wing politics|Right-wing]]
| footnotes        = {{Cnote|A|Includes [[Trumpism]]}}
| ideology         = [[Right-wing populism]]{{cref|A}}<br />[[Conservatism in the United States|Conservatism]]
| website          = [https://www.republican.senate.gov republican.senate.gov]
| country          = the United States
}}

{{United States Senate}}
The '''Senate Republican Conference''' is the formal organization of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] senators in the [[United States Senate]]. Over the last century, the mission of the conference has expanded and been shaped as a means of informing the [[Mass media|media]] of the opinions and activities of Senate Republicans. The Senate Republican Conference assists Republican senators by providing a full range of communications services including graphics, [[radio]], [[television]], and the [[Internet]]. Its [[Republican Conference Chairman of the United States Senate|chairman]] is Senator [[Tom Cotton]],<ref name="blunt">{{Cite web |last=Shutt |first=Jennifer |date=2022-11-16 |title=McConnell re-elected U.S. Senate GOP leader, fending off bid by Florida's Rick Scott |url=https://idahocapitalsun.com/2022/11/16/mcconnell-re-elected-u-s-senate-gop-leader-fending-off-bid-by-floridas-rick-scott/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Idaho Capital Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> and its [[Republican Conference Vice-Chair of the United States Senate|vice chairman]] is Senator [[James Lankford]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Capito elected to GOP Leadership|url=https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/capito-elected-to-gop-leadership|website=Senate.gov|date=November 16, 2022|access-date=January 3, 2023}}</ref>

==Conference hierarchy==
Effective {{as of|2025|01|03|df=us|lc=y}}, the conference leadership is:

*[[John Thune]] ([[South Dakota|SD]]) as [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]] 
*[[John Barrasso]] ([[Wyoming|WY]]) as [[Senate Majority Whip]]
*[[Tom Cotton]] ([[Arkansas|AR]]) as [[Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference|Chairman of the Republican Conference]]
*[[Shelley Moore Capito]] ([[West Virginia|WV]]) as Chairwoman of the [[Senate Republican Policy Committee]]
*[[James Lankford]] ([[Oklahoma|OK]]) as [[Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference]]
*[[Tim Scott]] ([[South Carolina|SC]]) as Chairman of the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]]
*[[Mike Lee]] ([[Utah|UT]]) as Chairman of the Senate Republican Steering Committee
*[[Mike Crapo]] ([[Idaho|ID]]) as Senate Republican Chief Deputy Whip
*[[Chuck Grassley]] ([[Iowa|IA]]) as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore]]

==History==
The Republican Conference of the United States Senate is a descendant of the early [[United States|American]] party [[caucuses|caucus]] that decided party policies, approved appointees, and selected candidates. The meetings were private, and early records of the deliberations do not exist. Senate Republicans began taking formal minutes only in 1911, and they began referring to their organization as the "conference" in 1913. An early outgrowth of the effort to enhance party unity was the creation, in 1874, of a steering committee to prepare a legislative schedule for consideration by the conference. The committee became a permanent part of the Republican organization.

The steering committee, formalized Republican "leadership" in the 19th century was minimal; most legislative guidance came from powerful committee chairmen managing particular bills. The conference began to acquire significance, however, with the election of Senator [[William B. Allison]] of [[Iowa]] as chairman in 1897, and during the terms of successors such as Senator [[Orville H. Platt]] of [[Connecticut]] and Senator [[Nelson W. Aldrich]] of [[Rhode Island]]. The chairman in 1915, Senator [[Jacob H. Gallinger]] of [[New Hampshire]], who two years earlier had elected a whip to maintain a quorum to conduct Senate business. Senator [[James W. Wadsworth, Jr.]] of [[New York (state)|New York]] was elected both conference secretary and whip; a week later the responsibilities were divided between Senator Wadsworth as Secretary and Senator [[Charles Curtis]] of [[Kansas]], who was elected whip.

The conference continued to meet in private to assure confidentiality and candor. This practice was suspended only once, on May 27, 1919, when the conference reaffirmed its commitment to the seniority system for choosing committee chairmen by electing Senator [[Boies Penrose]] of [[Pennsylvania]] as chairman of the finance committee over objections from Progressive Republican insurgents. (This was apparently the only open party conference in the history of the Senate.)

During this period, the chairman also served as informal floor leader. One reason for the lack of a formal post was that committee chairmen usually took responsibility to move to proceed to the consideration of measures reported by their respective committees and managed the legislation on the floor. The first recorded Conference election of a formal floor leader was held March 5, 1925, when the conference chairman, Senator Curtis of Kansas, was unanimously chosen to serve in both posts.

Throughout the 1920s, when Republicans held the Senate majority, the conference met chiefly at the beginning of each session to make committee assignments; for the remainder of the session, Members were notified of the order of business by [[mail]]. This slow pace continued through the 1930s, when Republican senators were so few that they dispensed with a permanent whip, and the conference chairman and floor leader, Senator [[Charles L. McNary]] of [[Oregon]], appointed senators to serve as whip on particular pieces of legislation.

Senator McNary died in 1944, and the posts of conference chairman and floor leader were separated in 1945. Senator [[Arthur H. Vandenberg]] of [[Michigan]] became chairman and Senator [[Wallace H. White, Jr.]], of [[Maine]] became floor leader. This separation has continued to be one of the chief differences between the Republican and Democratic Conferences, since the floor leader of the Democrats has continued to serve as their conference chairman.

In 1944, Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] of [[Ohio]], still in his first term, persuaded Republicans to revive their steering committee, and he became its chairman. In 1946, it became the Republican Policy Committee under legislation appropriating equal funds for majority and minority parties (a separate steering committee was created in 1974 but its operations are funded by member dues, not by Congress<ref name="Lott">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002634626 |title=With Lott's Exit, Kyl to Assume Republican Whip Position Unopposed|date=30 November 2007|access-date=2007-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104113103/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002634626 |archive-date=2008-11-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>). Until the mid-1970s the staffs of the Conference and Policy Committee were housed together under a single staff director who administered their budgets jointly. Staff separation was begun during 1979–1980, while Senator [[Bob Packwood]] of Oregon was chairman of the conference, and completed under Senator [[James A. McClure|James McClure]] of [[Idaho]]. Under Senator McClure's leadership in the 1980s, the conference began providing television, radio and graphics services for Republican senators. Senator [[Connie Mack III|Connie Mack]], as conference chairman, in 1997 created the first digital Information Technology department to communicate the Republican agenda over the web.

== Meetings of Republican Conference ==
The form and frequency of conference meetings has depended upon leadership personalities and legislative circumstances. Since the late 1950s, the conference has met at the beginning of each [[United States Congress]] to elect the leadership, approve committee assignments, and attend to other organizational matters. Although other meetings are called from time to time to discuss pending issues, the weekly Policy Committee luncheons afford a regular forum for discussion among senators. As a former Republican Leader, Senator [[Everett M. Dirksen]] of [[Illinois]], said in 1959:

:When the Republican Policy Committee meets weekly, it is actually a meeting of the Republican Conference over the luncheon table, at which time we discuss all matters of pending business. Thus, so far as possible, all the information which is within the possession and the command of the leadership is freely diffused to every member.

At the time Senator Dirksen spoke, the elected party leadership included: chairman of the conference, secretary of the conference, floor leader, whip (now assistant floor leader), and chairman of the Policy Committee. On July 31, 1980, Conference rules were amended to make the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee an elected position, a change which brought the rules into conformity with what had become custom.

== "Conference" versus "caucus" ==
The Republican Conference has never been a caucus in the dictionary sense, that is, a "partisan legislative group that uses caucus procedures to make decisions binding on its members." Even during the tense years of [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]], Republican senators were not bound to vote according to conference decisions. In 1867, for example, when Senator [[Charles Sumner]] of [[Massachusetts]] refused to follow conference policy on an issue, and Senator [[William P. Fessenden]] of [[Maine]] charged, "you should not have voted on the subject [in Conference] if you did not mean to be bound by the decision of the majority," Sumner retorted, "I am a Senator of the United States," and no attempt was made to discipline him. Such independence was reiterated on March 12, 1925, when a resolution introduced by Senator [[Wesley L. Jones]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] passed in the conference without objection:

:To make clear and beyond question the long-settled policy of Republicans that our Conferences are not caucuses or of binding effect upon those participating therein but are meetings solely for the purpose of exchanging views to promote harmony and united action so far as possible.

:Be It Resolved: That no Senator attending this Conference or any Conference held hereafter shall be deemed to be bound in any way by any action taken by such Conference, but he shall be entirely free to act upon any matter considered by the Conference as his judgment may dictate, and it shall not be necessary for any Senator to give notice of his intention to take action different from any recommended by the Conference."

==Floor leaders==
{|class="wikitable" style="width:75%; text-align:center;"
|-
! Congress
! colspan="2" | Leader
! State
! Took office
! Left office
|-
| [[69th United States Congress|69th]]
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Charles Curtis-portrait.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="2" | '''[[Charles Curtis]]'''<br>{{small|(1860–1936)}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Kansas]]
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|November 28, 1924}}
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|March 3, 1929}}
|-
| [[70th United States Congress|70th]]
|-
| [[71st United States Congress|71st]]
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Sen. Jas. E. Watson of Indiana LCCN2016825973 (cropped).jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="2" | '''[[James Eli Watson]]'''<br>{{small|(1874–1944)}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Indiana]]
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|March 4, 1929}}
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|March 4, 1933}}
|-
| [[72nd United States Congress|72nd]]
|-
| [[73rd United States Congress|73rd]]
| rowspan="6" | [[File:Charles Linza McNary cph.3b18950 (cropped 3x4).jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="6" | '''[[Charles L. McNary]]'''<br>{{small|(1874–1944)}}
| rowspan="6" | [[Oregon]]
| rowspan="6" | {{dts|March 4, 1933}}
| rowspan="6" | {{dts|February 25, 1944}}{{efn|[[Warren Austin]] ([[Vermont]]) was acting Leader from 1940-1941.}}
|-
| [[74th United States Congress|74th]]
|-
| [[75th United States Congress|75th]]
|-
| [[76th United States Congress|76th]]
|-
| [[77th United States Congress|77th]]
|-
| [[78th United States Congress|78th]]
|-
| [[79th United States Congress|79th]]
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Wallace White of Maine LCCN2016848772 (3x4a).jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="2" | '''[[Wallace H. White]]'''<br>{{small|(1877–1952)}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Maine]]
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|February 25, 1944}}
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|January 3, 1949}}
|-
| [[80th United States Congress|80th]]
|-
| [[81st United States Congress|81st]]
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Kenneth Wherry, Repub. Nat'l. Committeeman from Nebraska, April 1940 LCCN2016877363 (3x4a).jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="2" | '''[[Kenneth S. Wherry]]'''<br>{{small|(1892–1951)}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Nebraska]]
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|January 3, 1949}}
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|November 29, 1951}}
|-
| [[82nd United States Congress|82nd]]
|-
| [[83rd United States Congress|83rd]]
| [[File:RobertATaft83rdCongress.png|150px]]
| '''[[Robert A. Taft]]'''<br>{{small|(1889–1953)}}
| [[Ohio]]
| {{dts|January 3, 1953}}
| {{dts|July 31, 1953}}
|-
| [[84th United States Congress|84th]]
| rowspan="2" | [[File:William F. Knowland headshot.jpg|185x185px]]
| rowspan="2" | '''[[William Knowland]]'''<br>{{small|(1908–1974)}}
| rowspan="2" | [[California]]
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|August 3, 1953}}
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|January 3, 1959}}
|-
| [[85th United States Congress|85th]]
|-
| [[86th United States Congress|86th]]
| rowspan="6" | [[File:Senator Everett Dirksen.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="6" | '''[[Everett Dirksen]]'''<br>{{small|(1896–1969)}}
| rowspan="6" | [[Illinois]]
| rowspan="6" | {{dts|January 3, 1959}}
| rowspan="6" | {{dts|September 7, 1969}}
|-
| [[87th United States Congress|87th]]
|-
| [[88th United States Congress|88th]]
|-
| [[89th United States Congress|89th]]
|-
| [[90th United States Congress|90th]]
|-
| [[91st United States Congress|91st]]
|-
| [[92nd United States Congress|92nd]]
| rowspan="3" | [[File:SenHughScott.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="3" | '''[[Hugh Scott]]'''<br>{{small|(1900–1994)}}
| rowspan="3" | [[Pennsylvania]]
| rowspan="3" | {{dts|September 24, 1969}}
| rowspan="3" | {{dts|January 3, 1977}}
|-
| [[93rd United States Congress|93rd]]
|-
| [[94th United States Congress|94th]]
|-
| [[95th United States Congress|95th]]
| rowspan="4" | [[File:Howard Baker photo.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="4" | '''[[Howard Baker]]'''<br>{{small|(1925–2014)}}
| rowspan="4" | [[Tennessee]]
| rowspan="4" | {{dts|January 3, 1977}}
| rowspan="4" | {{dts|January 3, 1985}}{{efn|[[Ted Stevens]] ([[Alaska]]) was acting Leader from 1979-1980}}
|-
| [[96th United States Congress|96th]]
|-
| [[97th United States Congress|97th]]
|-
| [[98th United States Congress|98th]]
|-
| [[99th United States Congress|99th]]
| rowspan="6" | [[File:Ks 1996 dole.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="6" | '''[[Bob Dole]]'''<br>{{small|(1923–2021)}}
| rowspan="6" | [[Kansas]]
| rowspan="6" | {{dts|January 3, 1985}}
| rowspan="6" | {{dts|June 11, 1996}}{{efn|Resigned in order to run for [[President of the United States]]}}
|-
| [[100th United States Congress|100th]]
|-
| [[101st United States Congress|101st]]
|-
| [[102nd United States Congress|102nd]]
|-
| [[103rd United States Congress|103rd]]
|-
| [[104th United States Congress|104th]]
|-
| [[105th United States Congress|105th]]
| rowspan="3" | [[File:Trent Lott official portrait.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="3" | '''[[Trent Lott]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1941)}}
| rowspan="3" | [[Mississippi]]
| rowspan="3" | {{dts|June 11, 1996}}
| rowspan="3" | {{dts|January 3, 2003}}
|-
| [[106th United States Congress|106th]]
|-
| [[107th United States Congress|107th]]
|-
| [[108th United States Congress|108th]]
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Bill Frist official photo.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="2" | '''[[Bill Frist]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1952)}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Tennessee]]
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|January 3, 2003}}
| rowspan="2" | {{dts|January 3, 2007}}
|-
| [[109th United States Congress|109th]]
|-
| [[110th United States Congress|110th]]
| rowspan="9" | [[File:Mitch McConnell 2016 official photo (1).jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="9" | '''[[Mitch McConnell]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1942)}}
| rowspan="9" | [[Kentucky]]
| rowspan="9" | {{dts|January 3, 2007}}
| rowspan="9" | {{dts|January 3, 2025}}
|-
| [[111th United States Congress|111th]]
|-
| [[112th United States Congress|112th]]
|-
| [[113th United States Congress|113th]]
|-
| [[114th United States Congress|114th]]
|-
| [[115th United States Congress|115th]]
|-
| [[116th United States Congress|116th]]
|-
| [[117th United States Congress|117th]]
|-
| [[118th United States Congress|118th]]
|-
| [[119th United States Congress|119th]]
| [[File:John Thune 117th Congress portrait.jpg|150px]]
| '''[[John Thune]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1961)}}
| [[South Dakota]]
| {{dts|January 3, 2025}}
| ''[[Incumbent]]''
|}

==List of conference chairmen and chairwomen==
The Republican conference of the United States Senate chooses a conference chairperson. The office was created in the mid-19th century with the [[History of the United States Republican Party|founding of the Republican party]]. The office of "[[Floor Leader|party floor leader]]" was not created until 1925, and for twenty years, the Senate's Republican conference chairman was also the floor leader.

In recent years, the conference chair has come to be regarded as the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, behind the floor leader and whip. According to ''[[Congressional Quarterly]]'', "The conference chairman manages the private meetings to elect floor leaders, handles distribution of committee assignments and helps set legislative priorities. The modern version drives the conference’s message, with broadcast studios for television and radio."<ref name="Lott" />
{| class=wikitable
!Dates
!Name
!State
!Notes
|-
|1859 – December 1862
|[[John P. Hale]]
|[[New Hampshire]]
|
|-
|December 1862 – September 2, 1884
|[[Henry B. Anthony]]
|[[Rhode Island]]
|
|-
|September 2, 1884 – December 1885
|[[John Sherman]]
|[[Ohio]]
|
|-
|December 1885 – November 1, 1891
|[[George F. Edmunds]]
|[[Vermont]]
|
|-
|December 1891 – March 4, 1897
|[[John Sherman]]
|[[Ohio]]
|
|-
|March 4, 1897 – August 4, 1908
|[[William B. Allison]]
|[[Iowa]]
|
|-
|December 1908 – March 4, 1911
|[[Eugene Hale]]
|[[Maine]]
|
|-
|April 1911 – March 4, 1913
|[[Shelby Moore Cullom]]
|[[Illinois]]
|
|-
|March 4, 1913 – August 17, 1918
|[[Jacob Harold Gallinger]]
|[[New Hampshire]]
|
|-
|August 17, 1918 – November 9, 1924
|[[Henry Cabot Lodge]]
|[[Massachusetts]]
|
|-
|November 28, 1924 – March 4, 1929
|[[Charles Curtis]]
|[[Kansas]]
|Also [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Republican floor leader]] from 1925
|-
|March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
|[[James Eli Watson]]
|[[Indiana]]
|Also Republican floor leader
|-
|March 4, 1933 – February 25, 1944
|[[Charles L. McNary]]
|[[Oregon]]
|Also Republican floor leader
|-
|February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1947<br>{{small|Acting: February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1945}}
|[[Arthur Vandenberg]]
|[[Michigan]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1957
|[[Eugene Millikin]]
|[[Colorado]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1967
|[[Leverett Saltonstall]]
|[[Massachusetts]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973
|[[Margaret Chase Smith]]
|[[Maine]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975
|[[Norris Cotton]]
|[[New Hampshire]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
|[[Carl Curtis]]
|[[Nebraska]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981
|[[Bob Packwood]]
|[[Oregon]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985
|[[James A. McClure]]
|[[Idaho]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1991
|[[John Chafee]]
|[[Rhode Island]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997
|[[Thad Cochran]]
|[[Mississippi]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001
|[[Connie Mack III]]
|[[Florida]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007
|[[Rick Santorum]]
|[[Pennsylvania]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2007 – December 19, 2007
|[[Jon Kyl]]
|[[Arizona]]
|
|-
|December 19, 2007 – January 26, 2012
|[[Lamar Alexander]]
|[[Tennessee]]
|
|-
|January 26, 2012 – January 3, 2019
|[[John Thune]]
|[[South Dakota]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2025
|[[John Barrasso]]
|[[Wyoming]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2025 – present 
|[[Tom Cotton]]
|[[Arkansas]]
|
|}

==List of secretaries and vice chairmen==
The vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference, also known previously as the conference secretary until 2001, is the fifth-ranking leadership position (behind the [[Republican Policy Committee Chairman of the United States Senate|Policy Committee chair]]) within the [[U.S. Republican Party|Republican Party]] conference in the [[United States Senate]]. The vice-chair/secretary is responsible for keeping the [[minutes]] of the Senate Republican Conference and serves alongside the Senate Republican Conference chairperson. The vice chairman is [[James Lankford]], serving since 2025.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.senate.gov/senators/republican-conference-secretaries.htm | title=U.S. Senate: Republican Conference Secretaries/Vice Chair }}</ref>
{| class=wikitable
!colspan=5|<p align=center>'''<u>Secretary of the Senate Republican Conference</u>'''</p>
|-
!Congress
!Officeholder
!State
!Term Start
!Term End
|-
|[[62nd United States Congress|62nd]]
|[[Charles Curtis]]
|[[Kansas]]
|March 4, 1911
|March 4, 1913
|-
|[[63rd United States Congress|63rd]]
|[[William S. Kenyon (Iowa politician)|William Kenyon]]
|[[Iowa]]
|March 4, 1913
|March 4, 1915
|-
|[[64th United States Congress|64th]]
|rowspan=6 |[[James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.|James Wadsworth]]
|rowspan=6 |[[New York (state)|New York]]
|rowspan=6 |March 4, 1915
|rowspan=6 |March 4, 1927
|-
|[[65th United States Congress|65th]]
|-
|[[66th United States Congress|66th]]
|-
|[[67th United States Congress|67th]]
|-
|[[68th United States Congress|68th]]
|-
|[[69th United States Congress|69th]]
|-
|[[70th United States Congress|70th]]
|rowspan=7 |[[Frederick Hale (US senator)|Frederick Hale]]
|rowspan=7 |[[Maine]]
|rowspan=7 |March 4, 1927
|rowspan=7 |January 3, 1941
|-
|[[71st United States Congress|71st]]
|-
|[[72nd United States Congress|72nd]]
|-
|[[73rd United States Congress|73rd]]
|-
|[[74th United States Congress|74th]]
|-
|[[75th United States Congress|75th]]
|-
|[[76th United States Congress|76th]]
|-
|[[77th United States Congress|77th]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Wallace H. White Jr.]]
| rowspan=2 |[[Maine]]
| rowspan=2 |January 3, 1941
| rowspan=2 | February 25, 1944
|-
|[[78th United States Congress|78th]]
|-
|78th
| rowspan=2|[[Harold Hitz Burton|Harold Burton]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Ohio]]
| rowspan=2 |February 25, 1944
| rowspan=2 |September 30, 1945
|-
|[[79th United States Congress|79th]]
|-
|79th
|[[John Chandler Gurney|Chan Gurney]]
|[[South Dakota]]
| September 30, 1945
| January 3, 1946
|-
|79th
|rowspan=13|[[Milton Young]]
| rowspan=13|[[North Dakota]]
| rowspan=13| January 3, 1946
| rowspan=13| January 3, 1971
|-
|[[80th United States Congress|80th]]
|-
|[[81st United States Congress|81st]]
|-
|[[82nd United States Congress|82nd]]
|-
|[[83rd United States Congress|83rd]]
|-
|[[84th United States Congress|84th]]
|-
|[[85th United States Congress|85th]]
|-
|[[86th United States Congress|86th]]
|-
|[[87th United States Congress|87th]]
|-
|[[88th United States Congress|88th]]
|-
|[[89th United States Congress|89th]]
|-
|[[90th United States Congress|90th]]
|-
|[[91st United States Congress|91st]]
|-
|[[92nd United States Congress|92nd]]
|[[Norris Cotton]]
|[[New Hampshire]]
|January 3, 1971
|January 3, 1973
|-
| [[93rd United States Congress|93rd]]
|[[Wallace F. Bennett]]
|[[Utah]]
|January 3, 1973
|January 3, 1975
|-
| [[94th United States Congress|94th]]
|[[Robert Stafford]]
|[[Vermont]]
| January 3, 1975
| January 3, 1977
|-
| [[95th United States Congress|95th]]
|[[Clifford Hansen]]
|[[Wyoming]]
|January 3, 1975
|January 3, 1977
|-
<!--| [[95th United States Congress|95th]]
| colspan=2| <p align=center>''Vacant''</p>
|January 3, 1977
|January 3, 1979
-->|-
|[[96th United States Congress|96th]]
|rowspan=3|[[Jake Garn]]
| rowspan=3|[[Utah]]
| rowspan=3| January 3, 1979
| rowspan=3| January 3, 1985
|-
|[[97th United States Congress|97th]]
|-
|[[98th United States Congress|98th]]
|-
|[[99th United States Congress|99th]]
| rowspan=3|[[Thad Cochran]]
| rowspan=3|[[Mississippi]]
| rowspan=3| January 3, 1985
| rowspan=3| January 3, 1991
|-
|[[100th United States Congress|100th]]
|-
|[[101st United States Congress|101st]]
|-
|[[102nd United States Congress|102nd]]
|[[Bob Kasten]]
|[[Wisconsin]]
| January 3, 1991
| January 3, 1993
|-
|[[103rd United States Congress|103rd]]
|[[Trent Lott]]
|[[Mississippi]]
| January 3, 1993
| January 3, 1995
|-
| [[104th United States Congress|104th]]
|[[Connie Mack III|Connie Mack]]
|[[Florida]]
| January 3, 1995
| January 3, 1997
|-
|105th
| rowspan=2|[[Paul Coverdell]]
| rowspan=2 |[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| rowspan=2 | January 3, 1997
| rowspan=2 | July 18, 2000
|-
|[[106th United States Congress|106th]]
|-
!colspan=5|<p align=center>'''<u>Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference</u>'''</p>
|-
!Congress
!Officeholder
!State
!Term Start
!Term End
|-
|[[107th United States Congress|107th]]
| rowspan=3 |[[Kay Bailey Hutchison]]<!--{{efn|Position known as Vice Chair from here on}}-->
| rowspan=3 |[[Texas]]
| rowspan=3 | January 3, 2001
| rowspan=3 | January 3, 2007
|-
|[[108th United States Congress|108th]]
|-
|[[109th United States Congress|109th]]
|-
|[[110th United States Congress|110th]]
|[[John Cornyn]]
|[[Texas]]
| January 3, 2007
| January 3, 2009
|-
|[[111th United States Congress|111th]]
|[[John Thune]]
|[[South Dakota]]
| January 3, 2009
| June 17, 2009
|-
|111th
|[[Lisa Murkowski]]
|[[Alaska]]
| June 17, 2009
| September 17, 2010
|-
| 111th
|rowspan=2| [[John Barrasso]]
| rowspan=2| [[Wyoming]]
| rowspan=2| September 17, 2010
| rowspan=2| January 26, 2012
|-
|[[112th United States Congress|112th]]
|-
|112th
| rowspan=4|[[Roy Blunt]]
| rowspan=4|[[Missouri]]
| rowspan=4| January 26, 2012
| rowspan=4| January 3, 2019
|-
|[[113th United States Congress|113th]]
|-
|[[114th United States Congress|114th]]
|-
|[[115th United States Congress|115th]]
|-
|[[116th United States Congress|116th]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Joni Ernst]]
| rowspan=2 |[[Iowa]]
| rowspan=2 | January 3, 2019 
| rowspan=2 | January 3, 2023
|-
|[[117th United States Congress|117th]]
|-
|[[118th United States Congress|118th]]
|[[Shelley Moore Capito]]
|[[West Virginia]]
| January 3, 2023
| January 3, 2025
|-
|[[119th United States Congress|119th]]
|[[James Lankford]]
|[[Oklahoma]]
| January 3, 2025
| ''present''
|}

==Members==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''Alabama'''
* [[Katie Britt]]
* [[Tommy Tuberville]]
'''Alaska'''
* [[Lisa Murkowski]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs|Senate Indian Affairs Committee]]  
* [[Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator)|Dan Sullivan]]
'''Arkansas'''
* [[John Boozman]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry|Senate Agriculture Committee]]
* [[Tom Cotton]]
'''Florida'''
* [[Rick Scott]]
* [[Ashley Moody]]
'''Idaho'''
* [[Mike Crapo]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance Committee]]
* [[Jim Risch]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]
'''Indiana'''
* [[Todd Young]]
* [[Jim Banks]]
'''Iowa'''
* [[Chuck Grassley]], [[President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate]] 
* [[Joni Ernst]]
'''Kansas'''
* [[Jerry Moran]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Senate Veterans Affairs Committee]]
* [[Roger Marshall]]
'''Kentucky'''
* [[Mitch McConnell]]
* [[Rand Paul]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship|Senate Small Business Committee]]
'''Louisiana'''
* [[Bill Cassidy]]
* [[John Kennedy (Louisiana politician)|John Kennedy]]
'''Maine'''
* [[Susan Collins]]
'''Mississippi'''
* [[Roger Wicker]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation|Senate Commerce Committee]]
* [[Cindy Hyde-Smith]]
'''Missouri'''
* [[Eric Schmitt]]
* [[Josh Hawley]]
'''Montana'''
* [[Steve Daines]]
* [[Tim Sheehy]]
{{col-2}}
'''Nebraska'''
* [[Deb Fischer]]
* [[Pete Ricketts]] 
'''North Carolina'''
* [[Ted Budd]]
* [[Thom Tillis]]
'''North Dakota'''
* [[John Hoeven]]
* [[Kevin Cramer]]
'''Ohio'''
* [[Bernie Moreno]]
* [[Jon Husted]]
'''Oklahoma'''
* [[Markwayne Mullin]]
* [[James Lankford]], Chair of the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics|Senate Ethics Committee]]
'''Pennsylvania'''
* [[Dave McCormick]]
'''South Carolina'''
* [[Lindsey Graham]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate Budget Committee]] 
* [[Tim Scott]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Special Committee on Aging|Senate Aging Committee]]
'''South Dakota'''
* [[John Thune]], [[Senate Majority Leader]]
* [[Mike Rounds]]
'''Tennessee'''
* [[Marsha Blackburn]]
* [[Bill Hagerty]]
'''Texas'''
* [[John Cornyn]], Ranking Member of the [[International Narcotics Control Caucus|Senate Narcotics Caucus]]
* [[Ted Cruz]]
'''Utah'''
* [[Mike Lee]]
* [[John Curtis]]
'''West Virginia'''
* [[Shelley Moore Capito]], Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Senate Environment Committee]]
* [[Jim Justice]]
'''Wisconsin'''
* [[Ron Johnson]]
'''Wyoming'''
* [[John Barrasso]], [[Republican Conference Chairman of the United States Senate|Chair of the Senate Republican Conference]] and Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources|Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee]]
* [[Cynthia Lummis]]
{{col-end}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist|3oem}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://republican.senate.gov/ Official home of the Senate Republican Conference]
*[https://www.senate.gov/src/about/index.cfm About the Senate Republican Conference] &mdash; The content of this article was derived from this public domain resource.
*[https://www.senate.gov/reference/common/generic/party_leadership.htm Information on Senate party leadership]
*[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=105_cong_documents&docid=f:sd019.pdf  ''Minutes of the Senate Republican Conference: Sixty-second Congress through Eighty-eighth Congress, 1911-1964,''] edited by Wendy Wolff and Donald A. Ritchie. Washington: GPO, 1999, Senate Document 105-19.
{{USPartyConference}}
{{USCongress}}
{{Republican Party}}

[[Category:Republican Party (United States) organizations|Conference, Senate]]
[[Category:Leaders of the United States Senate|Republican Conference]]
[[Category:United States Senate]]
[[Category:Lists related to the United States Senate]]