Whip

A whip is a member of a legislative party's leadership whose job is to make sure members show up and vote as the party wants. The term comes from the "whipper-in" in British fox hunting, who keeps the hounds together. Both the House and Senate have majority and minority whips, supported by deputy whips and a whip organization.

Whips track where members stand on pending legislation, a process called the "whip count," and report to the party's top leaders so they know whether a bill has the votes. They notify members about the schedule, communicate leadership's position, and sometimes pressure or negotiate with reluctant colleagues, offering assurances or changes to a bill. In the House the majority whip is the third-ranking leader after the Speaker of the House and majority leader; in the Senate, the whip is typically the second-ranking position.

Whips matter most on close votes. Party discipline has varied over time and depends on how narrow the majority is, how unified members are and what incentives leaders have, such as committee assignments. A bill that cannot win a whip count is usually pulled from the floor. Conservative caucuses within the Republican conference have sometimes denied leaders the votes they counted on.