President Pro Tempore of the Senate: Duties, Succession, and Salary

The President Pro Tempore of the Senate is the senator, chosen by the chamber under Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, who presides over the Senate whenever the Vice President is absent. By long-standing tradition the title goes to the most senior member of the majority party. The current officeholder is Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, sworn in on January 3, 2025 at the start of the 119th Congress.¹ The job carries real constitutional standing, including a place in the presidential line of succession, but day-to-day Senate power sits with the Majority Leader.

Where the Office Comes From

Article I, Section 3 directs the Senate to choose a President Pro Tempore to preside when the Vice President is absent or has assumed the presidency.² “Pro tempore” is Latin for “for the time being,” and that phrasing captures the framers’ original expectation: the Vice President would preside regularly, and the Senate would only need a substitute now and then.

That expectation faded. Vice Presidents largely stepped away from the presiding chair, and the President Pro Tempore grew into a permanent leadership title with a fixed salary, statutory appointment powers, and a spot in the presidential line of succession.³

How the Senate Fills the Position

The Constitution sets no qualifications and simply says the Senate “shall chuse” a President Pro Tempore. Since the mid-twentieth century, the seat has gone to the majority party’s most senior senator, with seniority measured by continuous service.⁴ The Senate formalizes the choice through a resolution, typically adopted by unanimous consent at the start of each Congress.

Because seniority governs, the officeholder is almost always among the oldest members of the chamber. Grassley’s current tenure is his second; he also held the role from 2019 to 2021.⁵ Removal follows the same route as selection: the Senate can elect a new President Pro Tempore at any time by resolution, and a change in party control automatically produces a new one. Mid-Congress vacancies from death or resignation are filled the same way.

Duties and Powers

The role’s responsibilities come partly from the Constitution and partly from statute and Senate rules.

Presiding Over the Senate

The core duty is running the chair when the Vice President is not there. In practice, neither the Vice President nor the President Pro Tempore spends much time actually presiding. The President Pro Tempore routinely designates junior members of the majority party to take the gavel during routine floor proceedings.³ Grassley continues to make those designations regularly.⁶ Whoever holds the chair enforces order on the floor and in the galleries.

Signing Legislation and Administering Oaths

Before a bill can go to the President, the presiding officers of both chambers must sign the enrolled version. In the Senate, that signature belongs to the President Pro Tempore. The office also administers the oath to senators when the Vice President is unavailable and may preside jointly with the Speaker during joint sessions or joint meetings of Congress.⁵

Appointments

Federal law hands the President Pro Tempore several appointment roles. Working with Senate leaders, the officeholder jointly appoints the director of the Congressional Budget Office with the Speaker of the House and appoints the Senate’s legislative and legal counsel.³ The office also recommends candidates for U.S. Comptroller General, who leads the Government Accountability Office, and fills seats on various national commissions and advisory boards.⁵

Voting

The President Pro Tempore is still a senator and casts a full vote on every measure. But the office does not carry the Vice President’s tie-breaking power.³ If the President Pro Tempore has already voted and the tally is tied, the tie stands unless the Vice President arrives to break it.

How the Role Compares to the Majority Leader

The constitutional title suggests weight the office does not carry in daily practice. By 1945, Washington already treated the Majority Leader as the Senate’s real power center, on par with the Speaker of the House, while the President Pro Tempore had settled into a largely ceremonial part.⁷ The Majority Leader controls the floor schedule, decides which bills get votes, and drives legislative strategy. The President Pro Tempore has no comparable agenda-setting authority. What the position does carry is constitutional standing: succession, the signing pen, and the statutory appointment powers.

Salary

The President Pro Tempore earns the same salary as the Senate Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and their House counterparts: $193,400 per year as of 2026, which is $19,400 above the standard senator salary of $174,000.⁸ The office also receives an annual expense allowance of up to $40,000 and a dedicated staff budget.

Place in Presidential Succession

Under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, codified at 3 U.S.C. § 19, the President Pro Tempore stands third in line to the presidency, behind the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.⁹

Reaching the President Pro Tempore would require both the presidency and vice presidency to be vacant and the Speaker to be unavailable or unwilling to serve. Even then, the statute requires the President Pro Tempore to resign both the title and the Senate seat before acting as President.¹⁰ The person would also need to meet the Constitution’s presidential eligibility rules: natural-born citizenship, at least 35 years of age, and at least 14 years of U.S. residency. No President Pro Tempore has ever been called on under this statute.

1
Grassley Senate. Grassley Sworn In as Senate President Pro Tempore for the 119th Congress
2
Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School. Article I Legislative Branch – Section 3 – Clause 5
3
U.S. Senate. About the President Pro Tempore
4
U.S. Senate. About Traditions and Symbols – Seniority
5
Senator Chuck Grassley. President Pro Tempore
6
U.S. Congress. Congressional Record – January 15, 2026
7
U.S. Senate. About the President Pro Tempore – Historical Overview
8
U.S. Senate. Senate Salaries 1789 to Present
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 USC 19 – Vacancy in Offices of Both President and Vice President; Officers Eligible to Act
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 U.S. Code 19 – Vacancy in Offices of Both President and Vice President; Officers Eligible to Act