List of United States senators expelled or censured
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The United States Constitution gives the Senate the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote.[1] This is distinct from the power over impeachment trials and convictions that the Senate has over executive and judicial federal officials: the Senate ruled in 1798 that senators could not be impeached, but only expelled, while debating the impeachment trial of William Blount, who had already been expelled.[2] Expulsion has not occurred since the Civil War.[1]
Censure, a lesser punishment which represents a formal statement of disapproval, has been more common since the start of the 20th century. Although censure carries no formal punishment, only one senator (Benjamin R. Tillman) of the nine to be censured has ever been re-elected. Unlike the House of Representatives, which also disciplines by reprimand, a censure is the weakest form of discipline the Senate issues.
Expelled senators
Expulsion proceedings not resulting in expulsion
Many expulsion proceedings have been begun by the Senate that did not lead to expulsion. In most cases, the expulsion failed to secure the necessary two-thirds vote, in other cases the senator in question resigned while proceedings were taking place, and some proceedings ended when a senator died or his term expired.
| Year | Senator | Party | State | Result | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1808 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic-Republican | Ohio | Not expelled | Assisted Aaron Burr's western expedition; resigned two weeks after expulsion failed |
| 1856 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | Minnesota | Not expelled | Charged with corruption |
| 1862 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | Kentucky | Not expelled | Accused of supporting the Confederate rebellion |
| 1862 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Rhode Island | Resigned | Charged with corruption |
| 1873 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | New Hampshire | Term expired | Charged with corruption |
| 1893 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | North Dakota | Not expelled | Charged with embezzlement; Senate determined that charges were too far in the past |
| 1905 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Oregon | Died during proceedings | Charged with corruption |
| 1906 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Kansas | Resigned | Convicted (upheld by the Supreme Court) for receiving compensation for intervening with a federal agency |
| 1907 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Utah | Not expelled | Senate committee asserted that Smoot, as a Mormon, belonged to a religion incompatible with US law; Senate found 43-27 that this was not relevant |
| 1919 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Wisconsin | Not expelled | Charged with disloyalty for a speech opposing entry into World War I; Senate found 50-21 that this was not warranted |
| 1922 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Michigan | Resigned | Convicted of election fraud (later overturned) for excessive spending in a primary election |
| 1924 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | Montana | Not expelled | Indicted for conflict of interest after serving in legal cases to which the United States was a party; exonerated by Senate 56-5 |
| 1934 | Template:Sortname | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | Louisiana | Not expelled | Both investigated for electoral fraud |
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| 1942 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | North Dakota | Not expelled | Charged with corruption and moral turpitude while Governor of North Dakota; full senate voted against expulsion 52-30[3] |
| 1982 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | New Jersey | Resigned | Convicted of bribery and conspiracy in the Abscam scandal; resigned before a vote by the full Senate |
| 1995 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Oregon | Resigned | Charged with sexual misconduct and abuse of power; resigned before Senate vote |
| 2011 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Nevada | Resigned | Charged with financial improprieties stemming from an extramarital affair; resigned before Senate vote |
Censured senators
| Year | Senator | Party | State | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1811 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Federalist | Massachusetts | Reading confidential documents in open Senate session before an injunction of secrecy was removed. |
| 1844 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | Ohio | Released to the New York Evening Post a copy of President John Tyler's message to the Senate regarding the treaty of annexation between the United States and the Republic of Texas. |
| 1902 | Template:Sortname | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | South Carolina | Fighting on the Senate floor with each other. |
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| 1929 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Connecticut | Employed Charles Eyanson as a Senate staff member while Eyanson was employed by the Manufacturers Association of Connecticut. |
| 1954 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Wisconsin | Refusal to cooperate with and verbal abuse of the members of the Subcommittee on Privileges and Elections during a 1952 investigation of his conduct, and of the Select Committee to Study Censure. |
| 1967 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | Connecticut | Use of his office to convert campaign funds to his personal benefit, and conduct unbecoming a senator. |
| 1979 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Democratic | Georgia | Improper financial conduct, accepting reimbursements for official expenses not incurred, and improper reporting of campaign receipts and expenditures. Talmadge was technically "denounced," rather than censured. |
| 1990 | Template:Sortname | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Republican | Minnesota | Unethical conduct relating to reimbursement of Senate expenses and acceptance of outside payments and gifts. |
See also
- List of New York State Legislature members expelled or censured
- Censure in the United States
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
- List of federal political sex scandals in the United States
Federal politicians:
- List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded
- List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes
State and local politics:
References
Sources
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