The Senate consists of 100 members - two for each State. It operates like a club, with individual senators holding a great deal of power to block a nominee by the president or [[filibuster]] a vote. If 41 senators agree to block a bill, then the bill cannot pass even though a big majority of 59 senators support it. In this case the bill fails to obtain "[[cloture]]".
The leader of the Senate is chosen by majority vote of the political party that is in the majority. Currently there are 59 53 senators who are Democrats (including two Independents who vote with the Democrats), so the Majority Leader of the Senate is a Democrat: [[Harry Reid]].
== Congressional Powers ==