minority leader

noun

: the leader of the minority party in a legislative body

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web But after the first meeting of the top four congressional leaders with the president in early May, the Senate minority leader felt the need to reemphasize his counsel. Seung Min Kim, Stephen Groves And Farnoush Amiri, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2023 All 212 Democrats voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who became the new House minority leader. Nicholas Reimann, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2023 In this case, Republicans will nominate Mr. McCarthy, and Democrats will nominate Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader. Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2022 The trio led by Jeffries, who is poised to become the Democratic minority leader, includes 59-year-old Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts as the Democratic whip and 43-year-old Rep. Pete Aguilar of California as caucus chairman. Lisa Mascaro, ajc, 30 Nov. 2022 Later this month, Jeffries, who is currently the head of the House Democratic Caucus, is expected to run unopposed for House minority leader. Melissa Noel, Essence, 21 Nov. 2022 As both speaker and minority leader, Pelosi was instrumental in crafting the Democrats' agenda over the past two decades, including helping pass President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act legislation, and overseeing the dual impeachments of President Donald Trump. Rafi Schwartz, The Week, 17 Nov. 2022 The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the minority leader’s team had made several calls to Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar asking him to switch parties, giving McCarthy an extra vote. Tori Otten, The New Republic, 15 Nov. 2022 Her Republican opponent, Christine Drazan, voted for the change as House minority leader, and unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson opposed it as a state senator. oregonlive, 16 Oct. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'minority leader.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of minority leader was in 1909

Dictionary Entries Near minority leader

Cite this Entry

“Minority leader.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minority%20leader. Accessed 5 Jun. 2023.

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