What Is the Role of the Sergeant at Arms?

In 1981, shortly after Howard Liebengood assumed the position of the 27th Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate, he found himself unsure of how to address the incoming president-elect Ronald Reagan during a visit. 'The thought struck me that I didn’t know what to call the President-elect,' Liebengood shared with The New York Times in November that year. 'Should I refer to him as 'President-elect,' 'Governor,' or something else?' (He settled on 'Sir.').

This wouldn't be the first time, nor the last, that the duties of a Sergeant at Arms (SAA) have left people wondering. Both the House and Senate have their own SAAs, with their highest visibility during the State of the Union address. During Donald Trump’s address on January 30, Frank Larkin, the 40th Senate SAA, will escort senators to the House Chamber, while Paul Irving, the 36th House SAA, will introduce the president ('Mister [or Madam] Speaker, the President of the United States!'). However, their responsibilities extend far beyond mere ceremonial duties.

Sergeants at Arms also serve as the chief law enforcement officers of their respective chambers. Their law enforcement responsibilities include overseeing their designated sections of the Capitol to ensure security is maintained. The SAA has the power to locate and bring back absent senators and representatives, to arrest or detain those causing disturbances (even for offenses such as bribing representatives), and to regulate access to the chambers.

In a way, they serve as the government's security personnel.

This isn't just a ceremonial role. In 1988, Senate SAA Henry Giugni led a team of Capitol police to track down, arrest, and round up missing Republicans during a Senate vote. One of them, Senator Bob Packwood from Oregon, had to be physically carried to the Senate floor to break a filibuster over a vote on senatorial campaign finance reform.

Although wrangling absent politicians might sound entertaining, the SAAs are more likely to spend their time on administrative responsibilities. As protocol officers, they coordinate visits from the president or other dignitaries and provide escorts; as executive officers, they offer support to their respective houses of Congress, with the Senate SAA assisting Senate offices with tasks such as managing computers, furniture, mail processing, and other logistics. Additionally, the two SAAs alternate serving as chair of the Capitol Police board.

Maybe a more interesting question than asking what they do is wondering how they manage to accomplish everything.