Literally, by virtue of one's office. The term refers to the practice under [[United States Senate|Senate]] rules that allows the [[chairman]] and ranking minority member of a [[committee]] to participate in any of the [[subcommittee|subcommittees]] of that committee, but generally not to [[vote]].<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/ex_officio.htm] US Senate Reference</ref>
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Literally, by virtue of one's office. The term refers to the practice under [[United States Senate|Senate]] rules that allows the [[chairman]] and ranking minority member of a [[committee]] to participate in any of the [[subcommittee]]s of that committee, but generally not to [[vote]].<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/ex_officio.htm] US Senate Reference</ref>