Censure in the United States

Censure in the United States

In the United States, governmental censure is done when a body’s members wish to publicly reprimand the President, a member of Congress, a judge or a cabinet member. A censure does not remove a member from their office so they retain their title, stature, and power to vote. There are no legal consequences that come with a reprimand.

About Censure in the United States in brief

Summary Censure in the United StatesIn the United States, governmental censure is done when a body’s members wish to publicly reprimand the President, a member of Congress, a judge or a cabinet member. A censure does not remove a member from their office so they retain their title, stature, and power to vote. There are no legal consequences that come with a reprimand or censure. There have been four cases in U.S. history where the House of Representatives or the Senate adopted a resolution that, in its original form, would censure the president. Several other presidents have been subject to censure attempts in which no formal resolution was adopted by either the House or Senate. In 1972, a series of censure resolutions were introduced in the House related to the Watergate scandal. In 1952, Congressman Burr Powell introduced a resolution without the approval of Congress censuring President Harry S. Truman for seizing control of steel mills during the 1952 steel strike. Another series of resolutions was introduced after the Night of Saturday Night Massacre in October 1973; most of the resolutions were related to Nixon’s handling of the Vietnam War.

The censure of President Andrew Jackson remains the clearest case of presidential censure by resolution. In 1834, while under Whig control, the Senate censured Jackson for withholding documents relating to his actions in defunding the Bank of the United states. In 1912, Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey introduced a censure against President William Howard Taft for allegedly interfering with a disputed Senate election. In 1871 Senator Charles Sumner introduced an unsuccessful resolution against President Ulysses S Grant for deploying ships to the Dominican Republic. The resolution ultimately did not receive a vote and was the subject of several censure motions. The House of Reps voted to add Ashmun’s censure as an amendment to a resolution under consideration by the Senate.