<P> The "Majority party" is the political party that either has a majority of seats or can form a coalition or caucus with a majority of seats; if two or more parties are tied, the vice president's affiliation determines which party is the majority party . The next - largest party is known as the minority party . The president pro tempore, committee chairs, and some other officials are generally from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party . Independents and members of third parties (so long as they do not caucus with or support either of the larger parties) are not considered in determining which is the majority party . </P> <P> At one end of the chamber of the Senate is a dais from which the presiding officer presides . The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials . One hundred desks are arranged in the chamber in a semicircular pattern and are divided by a wide central aisle . The Democratic Party traditionally sits to the presiding officer's right, and the Republican Party traditionally sits to the presiding officer's left, regardless of which party has a majority of seats . In this respect, the Senate differs from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and other parliamentary bodies in the Commonwealth of Nations and elsewhere . </P> <P> Each senator chooses a desk based on seniority within the party . By custom, the leader of each party sits in the front row along the center aisle . Forty - eight of the desks date back to 1819, when the Senate chamber was reconstructed after the original contents were destroyed in the 1812 Burning of Washington . Further desks of similar design were added as new states entered the Union . It is a tradition that each senator who uses a desk inscribes his or her name on the inside of the desk's drawer . </P> <P> Except for the President of the Senate, the Senate elects its own officers, who maintain order and decorum, manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate, and interpret the Senate's rules, practices and precedents . Many non-member officers are also hired to run various day - to - day functions of the Senate . </P>

Who sits in the front of the senate
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