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TheUnited States Constitution gives theSenate thepower to expel any member by a two-thirds vote.[1] This is distinct from thepower 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 theimpeachment trial ofWilliam Blount, who had already been expelled.[2] Expulsion has not occurred since theCivil 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 theHouse of Representatives, which alsodisciplines by reprimand, a censure is the weakest form of discipline the Senate issues.
| Year | Senator | Party | State | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1797 | William Blount | Democratic-Republican | Tennessee | Treason and conspiracy to incite theCreek andCherokee Indians to assistGreat Britain in invading SpanishFlorida. | |
| 1861 | James M. Mason | Democratic | Virginia | SupportingConfederate rebellion; Sebastian's expulsion was posthumously reversed in 1877. | |
| Robert M. T. Hunter | Democratic | ||||
| Thomas Lanier Clingman | Democratic | North Carolina | |||
| Thomas Bragg | Democratic | ||||
| James Chesnut Jr. | Democratic | South Carolina | |||
| Alfred O. P. Nicholson | Democratic | Tennessee | |||
| William K. Sebastian | Democratic | Arkansas | |||
| Charles B. Mitchel | Democratic | ||||
| John Hemphill | Democratic | Texas | |||
| Louis Wigfall | Democratic | ||||
| John C. Breckinridge | Democratic | Kentucky | |||
| 1862 | Trusten Polk | Democratic | Missouri | ||
| Waldo P. Johnson | Democratic | ||||
| Jesse D. Bright | Democratic | Indiana | |||
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 | John Smith | Democratic-Republican | Ohio | Not expelled | AssistedAaron Burr's western expedition; resigned two weeks after expulsion failed | |
| 1856 | Henry Mower Rice | Democratic | Minnesota | Not expelled | Charged with corruption | |
| 1862 | Lazarus W. Powell | Democratic | Kentucky | Not expelled | Accused of supporting theConfederate rebellion | |
| 1862 | James F. Simmons | Republican | Rhode Island | Resigned | Charged with corruption | |
| 1873 | James W. Patterson | Republican | New Hampshire | Term expired | Charged with corruption | |
| 1893 | William N. Roach | Democratic | North Dakota | Not expelled | Charged with embezzlement; Senate determined that charges were too far in the past | |
| 1905 | John H. Mitchell | Republican | Oregon | Died during proceedings | Charged with corruption | |
| 1906 | Joseph R. Burton | Republican | Kansas | Resigned | Convicted (upheld by the Supreme Court) for receiving compensation for intervening with a federal agency | |
| 1907 | Reed Smoot | Republican | Utah | Not expelled | Senate committee asserted that Smoot, as aMormon, belonged to a religion incompatible with US law; Senate found 43-27 that this was not relevant | |
| 1919 | Robert M. La Follette | Republican | Wisconsin | Not expelled | Charged with disloyalty for a speech opposing entry intoWorld War I; Senate found 50-21 that this was not warranted | |
| 1922 | Truman Handy Newberry | Republican | Michigan | Resigned | Convicted of election fraud (later overturned) for excessive spending in a primary election | |
| 1924 | Burton K. Wheeler | 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 | John H. Overton | Democratic | Louisiana | Not expelled | Both investigated for electoral fraud | |
| Huey Long | ||||||
| 1942 | William Langer | Republican | North Dakota | Not expelled | Charged with corruption and moral turpitude whileGovernor of North Dakota; full senate voted against expulsion 52-30[3] | |
| 1982 | Harrison A. Williams | Democratic | New Jersey | Resigned | Convicted of bribery and conspiracy in theAbscam scandal; resigned before a vote by the full Senate | |
| 1995 | Bob Packwood | Republican | Oregon | Resigned | Charged with sexual misconduct and abuse of power; resigned before Senate vote | |
| 2011 | John Ensign | Republican | Nevada | Resigned | Charged with financial improprieties stemming from an extramarital affair; resigned before Senate vote | |
| Year | Senator | Party | State | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1811 | Timothy Pickering | Federalist | Massachusetts | Reading confidential documents in open Senate session before an injunction of secrecy was removed. | |
| 1844 | Benjamin Tappan | Democratic | Ohio | Released to theNew York Evening Post a copy of PresidentJohn Tyler's message to the Senate regarding thetreaty of annexation between the United States and theRepublic of Texas. | |
| 1902 | Benjamin Tillman | Democratic | South Carolina | Fighting on the Senate floor with each other. | |
| John L. McLaurin | |||||
| 1929 | Hiram Bingham III | Republican | Connecticut | Employed Charles Eyanson as a Senate staff member while Eyanson was employed by the Manufacturers Association of Connecticut. | |
| 1954 | Joseph McCarthy | 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 | Thomas J. Dodd | Democratic | Connecticut | Use of his office to convert campaign funds to his personal benefit, and conduct unbecoming a senator. | |
| 1979 | Herman Talmadge | 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 | David Durenberger | Republican | Minnesota | Unethical conduct relating to reimbursement of Senate expenses and acceptance of outside payments and gifts. | |
Federal politicians:
State and local politics: