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

The seniority rule is also closely applied in each house when it elects the other members of each of its committees.

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

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

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2016

After the one-year Kohler contract ran out, the union demanded a broadened agreement, including a seniority rule in layoffs, dues checkoff, binding arbitration of differences.

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