List of Individuals Expelled, Censured, or Reprimanded in the U.S. House of Representatives
Blog Post
The Constitution grants the House broad power to discipline its Members for acts that range from criminal misconduct to violations of internal House Rules. Over the decades, several forms of discipline have evolved in the House. The most severe type of punishment by the House is expulsion, which is followed by censure, and finally reprimand.
- Members Who Have Been Expelled From the House of Representatives
- Members Who Have Been Censured By the House of Representatives
- Members Who Have Been Reprimanded By the House of Representatives
Members Who Have Been Expelled From the House of Representatives
The sternest form of punishment that the House has imposed on its Members is expulsion. The Constitution specifically empowers the House to expel a sitting Member who engages in “disorderly Behaviour,” requiring a two-thirds vote of those present and voting. Learn more about the Constitutional origins of expulsion.
| Individual | Cause | Date | Resolution No. | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John B. Clark | Disloyalty to the Union; fighting for the Confederacy | July 13, 1861 | N/A (37th Cong.) | 94-45 |
| John W. Reid | Disloyalty to the Union; fighting for the Confederacy | December 2, 1861 | N/A (37th Cong.) | No recorded vote |
| Henry C. Burnett | Disloyalty to the Union; fighting for the Confederacy | December 3, 1861 | N/A (37th Cong.) | No recorded vote |
| Michael J. Myers | Convicted of bribery | October 2, 1980 | H. Res. 794 (96th Cong.) | 376-30 |
| James A. Traficant | Convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery, defraud U.S., receipt of illegal gratuities, obstruction of justice, filing false tax returns, and racketeering | July 24, 2002 | H. Res. 495 (107th Cong.) | 420-1, 9 present |
| George Santos | Federally indicted on 23 counts including: wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds, lying on Federal financial disclosure forms to the House of Representatives, aggravated identity theft, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Per the expulsion resolution, Santos “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission, used campaign funds for personal purposes, engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with [company name] and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act.” | December 1, 2023 | H. Res. 878 (118th Cong.) | 311-114, 2 present |
Members Who Have Been Censured By the House of Representatives
Censure registers the House’s deep disapproval of Member misconduct that, nevertheless, does not meet the threshold for expulsion. Once the House approves the sanction by majority vote, the censured Member must stand in the well of the House (“the bar of the House” was the nineteenth-century term) while the Speaker or presiding officer reads aloud the censure resolution and its preamble as a form of public rebuke. Learn more about the historical origins of censure.
| Individual | Cause | Date | Resolution No. | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Stanbery | Insulting Speaker of the House Andrew Stevenson during floor debate | July 11, 1832 | N/A (22 Cong.) | 93-44 |
| Joshua R. Giddings | "Unwarranted and unwarrantable" conduct for presenting a series of anti-slavery resolutions violating the House gag rule | March 22, 1842 | N/A (27th Cong.) | 125-69 |
| Laurence M. Keitt | Assisting in assault on Senator Charles Sumner | July 16, 1856 | N/A (34th Cong.) | 106-96 |
| Benjamin G. Harris | Encouraged Confederacy in House debate to expel Representative Alexander Long | April 9, 1864 | N/A (38th Cong.) | 98-20 |
| Alexander Long | Supporting the recognition of the Confederacy in a floor speech | April 14, 1864 | N/A (38th Cong.) | 80-70 |
| John W. Chanler | Insulting the House by introducing resolution containing unparliamentary language | May 14, 1866 | N/A (39th Cong.) | 72-30 |
| Lovell H. Rousseau | Assaulting Representative Josiah Grinnell of Iowa with a cane | July 17, 18661 | N/A (39th Cong.) | 89-30 |
| John W. Hunter | Unparliamentary language for insulting a Member during debate | January 26, 1867 | N/A (39th Cong.) | 77-33 |
| Fernando Wood | Unparliamentary language for describing Reconstruction legislation as a "monstrosity" | January 15, 1868 | N/A (40th Cong.) | 114-39 |
| Edward D. Holbrook | Unparliamentary language for stating in debate that another Member made false assertions | February 4, 1869 | N/A (40th Cong.) | No recorded vote |
| Benjamin Whittemore | Sold multiple military academy appointments2 | February 24, 1870 | N/A (41st Cong.) | 187-0 |
| John T. DeWeese | Sold a military academy appointment3 | March 1, 1870 | N/A (41st Cong.) | 170-0 |
| Roderick R. Butler | Sold a military academy appointment | March 17, 1870 | N/A (41st Cong.) | 158-0 |
| Oakes Ames | Sold $33 million worth of stock in the "Crédit Mobilier" scandal to Members of Congress and executive officials at an undervalued price to influence votes and decisions | February 27, 1873 | N/A (42nd Cong.) | 182-36 |
| James Brooks | Solicited and accepted 50 shares of "Crédit Mobilier" stock at undervalued prices | February 27, 1873 | N/A (42nd Cong.) | 174-32 |
| John Y. Brown | Unparliamentary language for insulting a Member during debate | February 4, 1875 | N/A (43rd Cong.) | 161-79 |
| William D. Bynum | Unparliamentary language for insulting a Member during debate | May 17, 1890 | N/A (51st Cong.) | 126-104 |
| Thomas L. Blanton | Unparliamentary language for inserting a document into the Congressional Record that contained indecent and obscene language | October 27, 1921 | H. Res. 215 (67th Cong.) | 293-0, 26 present |
| Charles C. Diggs | Convicted on 11 counts of mail fraud and 18 counts of false statements in a payroll fraud scandal | July 31, 1979 | H. Res. 378 (96th Cong.) | 414-0, 4 present |
| Charles H. Wilson | Receiving improper gifts; improper use of congressional funds; improper personal use of campaign funds | June 10, 1980 | H. Res 660 (96th Cong.) | By voice vote |
| Gerry E. Studds | Sexual misconduct with a House Page | July 20, 1983 | H. Res. 265 (98th Cong.) | 420-3, 2 present |
| Daniel B. Crane | Sexual misconduct with a House Page | July 20, 1983 | H. Res. 266 (98th Cong.) | 421-3, 2 present |
| Charles B. Rangel | Misuse of congressional letterhead for fundraising; impermissible use of rent-controlled facility for campaign headquarters; inaccurate financial reports and federal tax returns | December 2, 2010 | H. Res. 1737 (111th Cong.) | 333-79 |
| Paul Gosar | Per the censure resolution, for having “posted a manipulated video on his social media accounts depicting himself killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Joseph Biden.” | November 17, 2021 | H. Res. 789 (117th Cong.) | 223-207, 1 present |
| Adam Schiff | Per the censure resolution, for “misleading the American public and for conduct unbecoming of an elected Member of the House of Representatives.” | June 21, 2023 | H. Res. 521 (118th Cong.) | 213-209, 6 present |
| Rashida Tlaib | Per the censure resolution, for “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.” | November 7, 2023 | H. Res. 845 (118th Cong.) | 234-188, 4 present |
| Jamaal Bowman | Per the censure resolution, for having “forced the evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building and disrupted the work of the Congress as a vote was underway on the floor of the House.” | December 7, 2023 | H. Res. 914 (118th Cong.) | 214-191, 5 present |
Members Who Have Been Reprimanded By the House of Representatives
For much of the House’s history, in fact well into the twentieth century, the word reprimand was used interchangeably with censure. Since the creation of a formal ethics process in the late 1960s, a reprimand registers the House’s disapproval for conduct that warrants a less severe rebuke than censure. Learn more about the historical origins of reprimand.
| Individual | Cause | Date | Resolution No. | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert L. F. Sikes | Improper financial disclosure and conflict of interest | July 29, 1976 | H. Res 1421 (94th Cong.) | 381-3, 5 present |
| Charles H. Wilson | False statement before Ethics Committee investigating the influence of a foreign government | October 13, 1978 | H. Res. 1414 (95th Cong.) | 329-41, 29 present |
| John J. McFall | Failure to report campaign contributions from a foreign lobbyist | October 13, 1978 | H. Res. 1415 (95th Cong.) | By voice vote |
| Edward J. Roybal | Failure to report campaign contributions; converted campaign funds to personal use | October 13, 1978 | H. Res. 1416 (95th Cong.) | By voice vote |
| George V. Hansen | For conviction of four counts of making false statements related to financial disclosure form | July 31, 1984 | H. Res. 558 (98th Cong.) | 354-52, 6 present |
| Austin J. Murphy | "Ghost voting" in which Murphy had another person vote on his behalf; improper use of official resources | December 18, 1987 | H. Res 335 (100th Cong.) | 324-68, 20 present |
| Barney Frank | Using political influence to fix parking tickets and influence probation officers for personal friend | July 26, 1990 | H. Res 440 (101st Cong.) | 408-18, 4 present |
| Newt Gingrich | Allowing a Member-affiliated tax-exempt organization to be used for political purposes; providing inaccurate and unreliable information to Ethics Committee | January 21, 1997 | H. Res 31 (105th Cong.) | 395-28, 5 present |
| Addison Graves (Joe) Wilson | Interrupting President's remarks before a Joint Session which was a "breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings" of the Joint Session. | September 15, 2009 | H. Res. 744 (111th Cong.) | 240-179, 5 present |
| Laura Richardson | Compelling official congressional staff to work on her political campaign | August 2, 2012 | H. Res. 755 (112th Cong.) | Unanimous consent |
| David Schweikert | Campaign finance violations and reporting errors by authorized campaign committees; misuse of Members’ Representational Allowance for unofficial purposes; pressuring official staff to perform campaign work | July 31, 2020 | H. Res. 1074 (116th Cong.) | By voice vote |
Footnotes
1Rousseau was formally censured before the bar of the House on July 21, 1866.
2Whittemore resigned before expulsion and the House "condemned" him.
3DeWeese resigned before expulsion and the House "condemned" him.