Whip

From dKosopedia

In politics, a whip is a member of a political party in a legislature whose task is to ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. The term originated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and derives from the "whipper-in" at a fox hunt. Whip is also used to mean the voting instructions issued to members by the Whip.

Both houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and Senate, have majority and minority whips. They in turn have subordinate 'regional' whips.

In the Senate, the Majority Whip is the second highest-ranking individual in the majority party (the party with the greater number of legislators in a legislative body), outranked only by the Majority Leader. However, in the House the Majority Whip is outranked by both the Majority Leader and the Speaker.

In both houses the Minority Whip is the second highest-ranking individual in the minority party (the party with the lesser number of legislators in a legislative body), outranked only by the Minority Leader.

Current Whips

These are the whips for the 110th_United_States_Congress:

The current Senate Majority Whip is Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois.

The current Senate Minority Whip is Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona.

The current House Majority Whip is Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

The current House Minority Whip in the House is Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri.