Old Senate Chamber - Modern Use

Modern Use

The chamber is today used occasionally for ceremonial functions. Special meetings between Senators or dignitaries as well as speeches have been given there. Examples of such events include a speech by Walter Mondale in the Old Senate Chamber in September 2002, a meeting between Jesse Helms and visiting members of the United Nations Security Council in March 2000, and a speech by former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield to Senators and guests in March 1998.

The room has been used by the press to take mock photos of Senators taking the oath of office. Senators are normally sworn-in in the current Senate chamber, where no photos are allowed. However, Byron Dorgan, who was elected in a special election, was sworn in as a senator in 1992 in a ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber.

The chamber is rarely used for official purposes. One exception is special circumstances calling for a more collegial atmosphere. The Senate met in the chamber on the morning of January 8, 1999 to deliberate rules for the trial of President Clinton; the procedures for the trial, brokered by Phil Gramm and Ted Kennedy, passed 100-0. In 2007, newly-elected Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called a bipartisan session in the Chamber in what was called a "private moment of bonding."