seniority rule

American  

noun

U.S. Politics.

1. the custom in Congress providing for the assignment of a committee chairpersonship to that member of the majority party who has served on the committee the longest.

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Example Sentences

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seniority rule

The seniority rule is, in fact, an unwritten custom.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2016

The seniority rule provides that the most important posts in Congress, in both the formal and the party organizations, will be held by those party members with the longest records of service.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2016

Critics of the seniority rule are many, and they do make a strong case.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2016

Speaker Garner divided the plums according to the inviolate seniority rule.

From Time Magazine Archive

I had to have, under the seniority rule of the service, a wooden man for its commander.

From Sword and Pen Ventures and Adventures of Willard Glazier by Owens, John Algernon