Parliamentarian of the United States Senate
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The Parliamentarian of the United States Senate is the Senate's advisor on the interpretation of its rules and procedures. As the Presiding Officer of the Senate may not be fully aware of the parliamentary situation currently facing the Senate, staff from the Senate Parliamentarian's office sit on the Senate dais to advise the Presiding Officer on how to respond to inquiries and motions from Senators. While the Presiding Officer is in no way required to follow the advice of the Parliamentarian staff, they almost always do so. The office also refers bills to the appropriate committees on behalf of the Senate's Presiding Officer. If facing the dais, the Parliamentarian is the second from the left. The current parliamentarian is Alan Frumin. He succeeded Robert Dove, who was Parliamentarian in the mid to late 1990's. Frumin also preceded him in the late-1980's as Parliamentarian, insofar as they switched positions as the Parliamentarian and the second most senior parliamentarian due to changes in partisan control over the Senate.
There are also two Senior Assistant Parliamentarians: Peter Robinson and Elizabeth MacDonough, and one Assistant Parliamentarian: Leigh Hildebrand. They also have a Parliamentary Assistant: Melissa Carmichael.