Minority Party
The minority party is the political party holding fewer seats than the other in a chamber of a legislature — in Congress, the party that does not hold the majority in the House or the Senate. The minority party has its own leadership structure (minority leader, whips), its own committee membership quotas, and procedural rights the chamber rules guarantee (debate time, the ability to offer amendments where rules allow, and, in the Senate, extended debate). Which party is the minority can change with each election, and in an evenly split Senate the majority depends on the Vice President tie-breaking vote.
The minority party is the political party holding fewer seats than the other in a chamber of a legislature — in Congress, the party that does not hold the majority in the House or the Senate. The minority party has its own leadership structure (minority leader, whips), its own committee membership quotas, and procedural rights the chamber rules guarantee (debate time, the ability to offer amendments where rules allow, and, in the Senate, extended debate). Which party is the minority can change with each election, and in an evenly split Senate the majority depends on the Vice President tie-breaking vote.
Example: Party ratios on House and Senate committees are set to reflect the chamber party division, so the minority party always holds seats and, in many committees, a proportionate share — the mechanism by which the minority can question, investigate, and dissent even without the votes to pass legislation.
Common misconception: Being the minority does not mean powerlessness. The minority cannot usually pass its own bills, but it can slow or block (especially in the Senate, where cloture requires 60 votes), force recorded votes, issue dissenting reports, and set the agenda for the next election — and a single member objection can stop unanimous-consent requests in either chamber.