An
executive session is a portion of the
United States Senate's daily session in which it considers nominations and treaties, or other items introduced by the
President of the United States. These items are termed
executive business; therefore, the session is an
executive session. It can either be closed door or open door. Historically, as a courtesy to the President, such sessions were always held behind closed doors, but this custom has been abandoned in modern times. The term "executive session" is still employed to refer to closed-door committee meetings, whether or not they are considering executive business. In any case, those present in an executive session are sworn to secrecy.