Chief Law Enforcement Officer
As the Senate’s chief law enforcement officer, the sergeant at arms can compel senators to come to the Senate Chamber to establish a quorum. In addition, the sergeant at arms supervises the Senate wing of the Capitol, maintaining security in the Capitol and in all the Senate buildings and controlling access to the Senate Chamber and galleries. The sergeant at arms also protects the members and can arrest and detain any person violating Senate rules. On the orders of the Senate, the sergeant at arms can even arrest the president of the United States. The Senate conducts its business in the Senate Chamber. Overlooking the chamber are the Public Gallery, the Diplomatic Gallery, the Press Gallery and the Family Gallery. In supervising the chamber and galleries, the sergeant at arms ensures that the business of the Senate proceeds undisturbed. Doorkeepers appointed by, and acting on behalf of, the sergeant at arms maintain order in the Senate Chamber, in the lobby, in adjoining rooms, and in the galleries. They manage access to the Senate Chamber by making sure only those with floor privileges under the Senate rules come into the chamber. The doorkeepers regulate attendance in the galleries by rotating visitors through the Public Gallery and ensuring the aisles are unobstructed, furnishing passes to foreign visitors for the Diplomatic Gallery, and supervising the Family Gallery for senators’ families and special guests. Four Media Galleries are responsible for the Press Gallery. While Standing Committees of Correspondents administer the Media Galleries subject to review and approval of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, the gallery staff is employed by the sergeant at arms. The Media Galleries provide journalists with working space and notices of coming events, and they facilitate press conferences. To observe the Senate’s proceedings, members of the media go to the Press Gallery. In the galleries of the Senate Chamber, reading materials and writing are permitted only in the Press Gallery. Pages, high school juniors who are supervised by the sergeant at arms, work with the doorkeepers to make sure the chamber is set up each morning the Senate is in session. They also help deliver messages to senators.
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