what is a whip in congress

A whip in Congress is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. They are assistants to the floor leaders who are also elected by their party conferences. The majority and minority whips (and their assistants) are responsible for mobilizing votes within their parties on major issues. The principle task of a party whip, formally known as “assistant party leader,” is to keep track of the number of votes for and against a piece of legislation. They are mainly responsible for counting heads and rounding up party members for votes and quorum calls, and they try to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their partys official policy. Members who vote against party policy may "lose the whip," being effectively expelled from the party. When a vote appears to be close, the Whips contact absent members of their party and advise them of the vote. Due to the larger number of members in the House of Representatives, House Whips appoint “deputy whips” to assist them in their activities.