CENSURE
A formal, public reprimand for an infraction or violation.
From time to time deliberative bodies are forced to take action against members whose
actions or behavior runs counter to the group’s acceptable standards for individual behavior. In the U.S. Congress, that action can come in the form of censure. Censure is a formal and public condemnation of an individual’s transgressions.
It is stronger than a simple rebuke, but not as
strong as expulsion. Members of Congress who
have been censured are required to give up any
committee chairs they hold, but they are not
removed from their elected position. Not sur-
prisingly, however, few censured politicians are
re-elected.
While censure is not specifically mentioned
in the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the right
to adopt resolutions, and a resolution to invoke
censure falls into this category. The first use
of censure was actually directed not at a member
of Congress but at a member of George Washington’s cabinet. ALEXANDER HAMILTON, Washington’s treasury secretary, was accused of
mishandling two congressionally authorized
loans. Congress voted a censure resolution
against Hamilton. The vote fell short, but it
established censure as a precedent. In general,
each house of Congress is responsible for invok-
ing censure against its own members; censure
against other government officials is not com-
mon, and censure against the president is rarer
still.
Because censure is not specifically men-
tioned as the accepted form of reprimand,many
censure actions against members of Congress
may be listed officially as rebuke, condemnation,
or denouncement. The end result, however, is
the same, and to all intents and purposes these
are censure measures. At the same time, each
censure case is different, and those delivering
censure like to have enough leeway to tailor the
level of severity. Still, the prospect of an open,
public rebuke by one’s peers is painful even for
the most thick-skinned politician.
Noteworthy Censure Cases
Among the best known censure cases in Congress were the 1811 censure of Massachusetts senator Timothy Pickering for reading confidential
documents in Senate sessions and the
1844 censure of Ohio senator Benjamin Tappan
for releasing a confidential document to a major
newspaper. Perhaps one of the more colorful
censure motions was the 1902 censure of South
Carolina’s two senators, Benjamin R. Tillman
and John L. McLaurin. On February 22, 1902,
they began fighting in the Senate chamber. Both
men were censured and suspended for six days
(retroactively).
Probably the most infamous censure case
was the condemnation of Senator JOSEPH R.
MCCARTHY (R-WI) in 1954. McCarthy took the
national stage at the height of the anti-Communist
movement following WORLD WAR II.
McCarthy spent several years making claims
that known Communists had infiltrated the U.S.
government, and although he never offered
proof of even one claim, his crusade was popular
and powerful. Many Americans from all
walks of life saw their lives destroyed in the early
1950s by groundless accusations of communist
sympathies. His power unchecked, McCarthy
became even more relentless, and in 1954 he
openly attacked members of the Eisenhower
administration in televised hearings. His colleagues
realized they had no choice but to act. A
censure committee was formed, and McCarthy
as much as accused its members of being Communists.
The vote to condemn McCarthy passed
65 to 22 on December 2, 1954.
Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) was found guilty in
2002 of taking illegal gifts and cash payments
from a businessman and not reporting them.
The businessman got help from the senator in
LOBBYING the government. Although Torricelli
denied the charges, his colleagues found the evidence
compelling enough to “severely admonish”
him. While not called a “censure,” this
reprimand clearly had the same effect. Torricelli,
who was up for reelection, saw his popularity
plunge in a matter of weeks, and on September
30, 2002, he withdrew from the race.
Presidential Censure
Congress rarely acts against the president
with a formal reprimand. ANDREW JACKSON was
the first president to be thus reprimanded, by
the Senate in 1834, after he removed the secretary
of the treasury (a responsibility that Congress
believed rested with the legislature).
Jackson was a Democrat, but the Senate was
controlled by the rival WHIG PARTY. Three years
later, when the Democrats took control of the
Senate, Jackson’s censure was expunged from the
records.
President JOHN TYLER was reprimanded in
1842 by the House of Representatives, which
accused him of abusing his powers. Apparently
Tyler had promised representatives on several
occasions that he would support certain bills,
only to VETO them when they arrived at his
desk. In 1848, President JAMES K. POLK was reprimanded
by the House for starting the Mexican
War without first obtaining Congressional
approval. In 1864, President ABRAHAM LINCOLN
and his secretary of war, EDWIN STANTON, were
condemned by the Senate for allowing an
elected member of the House to hold commissions
in the Army. The Senate voted for the reprimand
24 to 12, but it was referred to a special
committee and no further action was taken.
In 1998, during the IMPEACHMENT trial of
President BILL CLINTON, several members of
Congress attempted to have him censured
instead, believing that while his behavior warranted
rebuke it did not merit a full impeachment.
The move for censure failed, and Clinton
was impeached.
FURTHER READINGS
“Congressional Ethics: Historical Facts and Controversy.”
1992. Congressional Quarterly.Washington, D.C.: CQ.
Thompson, Dennis F. 1995. Ethics in Congress: From Individual
to Institutional Corruption. Washington, D.C.:
Brookings Institution.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Congress of the United States; Impeachment.
