Resolutions to Censure the President: Procedure and History (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Feb. 1, 2021 |
| Report Number |
R45087 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Hudiburg, Jane A.;Davis, Christopher M., 1966- |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Censure
is a
reprimand adopted by one or both chamber
s of Congress against a
Member
of
Congress
,
President
, federal judge, or
other
government official.
While Member c
ensure is a
disciplinary measure
that is
sanctioned by the Constitution (Article 1, Section 5),
n
on
-
Member
censure
is not
.
Rather
, it
is a formal expression
or
“sense of
”
one or both houses of Congress
.
As
such,
censure resolutions
targeting non
-
Members
use
a variety of
statements
to highlight conduc
t
deemed by the resolutions’ sponsors
to be inapprop
riate or unauthorized.
Resolutions that
attempt to censure the
P
resident for abuse of power, ethics violations, or other
behavior, are usually simple resolutions. These resolutions are not privileged for consideration
in
the House or Senate.
T
hey are
, inst
ead,
considered under the regular parliamentary mechanisms
used to process “sense of”
legislation
.
Since 1800,
Members of
the H
ouse and Senate have introduced
resolutions of censure against at
least 1
2
sitting
P
residents
. Two additional Preside
nts
received criticism via alternative
mea
ns
(a
House
committee
report and an amendment to a resolution).
T
he clearest instance of a successful presidential censure
is
Andrew Jackson
. A
resolution of
censure was approved in
1834.
On
three
other occasions,
cri
tical
resolutions were adopted, but
their final language, as amended,
obscured the original
intention to
censure the President.
In the remaining
cases,
resolutions
remained in committee, without further consideration,
or were
not adopted
in a floor vote
.
N
evertheless, presidential censure attempts have become more
frequent since the Richard Nixon era
.
This
report
summarizes the procedure
s that may be
used to consider resolutions of censure
and
the
history of
attempts to censure the President
(1
st
-
114
th
Co
ngresses)
.
It also provides citations to
additional reading material on the subject.
