Senate Chamber Desks

Senators may occupy more than one desk during their time in office. Desk occupants typically change every two years with the start of a new Congress, when sitting senators are given the option to change their seats based on seniority. Occupancy also changes whenever new members join the Senate.

The Senate began routinely documenting Senate Chamber desk occupancy assignments in 1985. Information about desk occupancy prior to 1985 has been determined from the inscriptions of senators’ names found in the desk drawers. The tradition of inscribing the desk drawers began around 1900, but not all senators have chosen to do it. Therefore, only senators whose names appear in the drawers are identified as having occupied a desk prior to 1985. Since that time, contemporary recordkeeping has eliminated the need to use inscriptions to verify desk occupancy.

Below is a list of all known desk assignments, arranged alphabetically by the senators' last names. To view the known occupants of a specific Senate Chamber desk, select the desk number from the drop-down menu. Use the search box to view results by senator name, state, or desk number.