List of United States Representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded

The United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 5)[1] gives the House of Representatives the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote. Expulsion of a Representative is rare: only five members of the House have been expelled in its history. Three of those five were expelled in 1861 for joining the Confederate States of America.[2]

However, the House has other, less severe measures with which to discipline members. Censure and reprimand are procedures in which the House may vote to express formal disapproval of a member's conduct. Only a simple majority vote is required. Members who are censured must stand in the well of the House chamber to receive a reading of the censure resolution.[2] A reprimand was once considered synonymous with censure, but in 1976 the House defined a reprimand as a less severe punishment. Members who are reprimanded are not required to stand in the well of the house and have the resolution read to them.

Expelled Representatives

Year Representative Party State Details
1861 Clark, John B.John B. Clark Democratic Missouri Disloyalty to the Union; taking up arms against the United States.
1861 Reid, John W.John W. Reid Democratic Missouri Disloyalty to the Union; taking up arms against the United States.
1861 Burnett, Henry C.Henry C. Burnett Democratic Kentucky Disloyalty to the Union; taking up arms against the United States.
1980 Myers, Michael J.Michael J. Myers Democratic Pennsylvania Convicted of bribery in the Abscam scandal.
2002 Traficant, JamesJames Traficant Democratic Ohio Convicted on ten counts that included bribery, obstruction of justice, and racketeering.[3]

Censured Representatives

Year Representative Party State Details
1832 Stanbery, WilliamWilliam Stanbery National Republican Ohio Insulting the Speaker of the House
1842 Giddings, JoshuaJoshua Giddings Whig Party Ohio Introduced anti-slavery resolution deemed to be "incendiary".
1856 Keitt, Laurence M.Laurence M. Keitt Democratic South Carolina Assisted in the assault on Sen. Charles Sumner
1864 Harris, Benjamin G.Benjamin G. Harris Democratic Maryland Made statements supporting the Confederacy.
1864 Long, AlexanderAlexander Long Democratic Ohio Supported recognition of the Confederacy
1866 Chanler, John W.John W. Chanler Democratic New York Insulted the House with resolution containing unparliamentary language
1866 Rousseau, LovellLovell Rousseau Unconditional Unionist Kentucky Assault of Rep. Josiah Grinnell
1867 Hunter, John W.John W. Hunter Democratic New York Unparliamentary language
1868 Wood, FernandoFernando Wood Democratic New York Unparliamentary language
1869 Holbrook, Edward D.Edward D. Holbrook Democratic Idaho Territory Unparliamentary language
1870 Whittemore, BenjaminBenjamin Whittemore Republican South Carolina Selling military academy appointments
1870 Deweese, John T.John T. Deweese Republican North Carolina Selling military academy appointments
1870 Butler, RoderickRoderick Butler Republican Tennessee Selling military academy appointments
1873 Ames, OakesOakes Ames Republican Massachusetts Prior involvement in Crédit Mobilier of America scandal
1873 Brooks, JamesJames Brooks Democratic New York Prior involvement in Crédit Mobilier of America scandal
1875 Brown, John Y.John Y. Brown Democratic Kentucky Unparliamentary language
1890 Bynum, William D.William D. Bynum Democratic Indiana Unparliamentary language
1921 Blanton, Thomas L.Thomas L. Blanton Democratic Texas Unparliamentary language
1979 Diggs, CharlesCharles Diggs Democratic Michigan Payroll fraud, mail fraud
1980 Wilson, Charles H.Charles H. Wilson Democratic California Improper use of campaign funds
1983 Crane, Daniel B.Daniel B. Crane Republican Illinois Sexual misconduct with House page
1983 Studds, GerryGerry Studds Democratic Massachusetts Sexual misconduct with House page
2010 Rangel, Charles B.Charles B. Rangel Democratic New York Improper solicitation of funds, inaccurate financial disclosure statements, failure to pay taxes.

Reprimanded Representatives

Year Representative Party State Details
1976 Sikes, Robert L. F.Robert L. F. Sikes Democratic Florida Use of office for personal gain
1978 Wilson, Charles H.Charles H. Wilson Democratic California Making false statements to House committee
1978 McFall, John J.John J. McFall Democratic California Failure to report campaign contributions
1978 Roybal, EdwardEdward Roybal Democratic California Making false statements to House committee, failure to report campaign contributions
1984 Hansen, George V.George V. Hansen Republican Idaho False statements on financial disclosure form
1987 Murphy, Austin J.Austin J. Murphy Democratic Pennsylvania Allowed another person to cast his vote; misusing House funds
1990 Frank, BarneyBarney Frank Democratic Massachusetts Use of office to fix parking tickets and influence probation officers on friend's behalf
1997 Gingrich, NewtNewt Gingrich Republican Georgia Use of tax-exempt organization for political purposes; provided false information to House Ethics Committee
2009 Wilson, JoeJoe Wilson Republican South Carolina Outburst towards President Barack Obama during a speech to a joint session of Congress[4][5]
2012 Richardson, LauraLaura Richardson Democratic California Use of Congressional office staff in 2010 House election campaign

Excluded Representatives-elect

Year Representative-elect Party State Details
1899 Brigham Henry Roberts Democratic Utah Denied seat for his practice of polygamy
1967 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Democratic New York Mismanaging his committee's budget in previous Congress, excessive absenteeism, misuse of public funds[6]

See also

Federal politicians:

State and local politics:

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Constitution Online, Article 1
  2. 1 2 CRS Report For Congress
  3. ↑ "Archives". CNN.com. April 11, 2002. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  4. ↑ "CNN, Politics, retrieved 14 September 2009". Cnn.com. 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  5. ↑ "Carter: Obama a target for racism". English.aljazeera.net. 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  6. ↑ "1967 Year In Review, UPI.com"
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