Congress censured Rashida Tlaib. What is meant by censure?

Congress censured Rashida Tlaib. What is meant by censure?
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The House of Representatives, in a bipartisan move, decided to censure a Democratic Representative from Michigan, Rashida Tlaib, while she persisted in defending remarks that were widely interpreted as advocating for the abolition of Israel.

Republicans and twenty-two Democrats voted in favor of the bill late on Tuesday, 234–188, after Tlaib, the lone Palestinian-American member of Congress, shared a video of demonstrators in Michigan chanting “from the river to the sea,” a portion of the chant denounced as antisemitic by Jewish organizations and the Anti-Defamation League.

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However, what does it actually mean and what impact does being censured in the House of Representatives have?

Table of Contents

Describe a censure

As per the U.S. House, a censure is a type of rebuke that expresses the House’s strong disapproval of member misconduct that does not meet the requirements for expulsion.

A member’s words, deeds, or a combination of the two are typically condemned in a censure. To pass, just a majority of House members must vote in favor of it.

The censured legislator is expected to stand in the House chamber’s well as the presiding officer reads the censure resolution after the majority votes in favor of it. It was not necessary for Tlaib to stand in the well.

A “reprimand,” another resolution that House members may bring to the floor to punish fellow members, is not as serious as a censure.

Is there a penalty for censure?

No, a member’s standing as a legislator is unaffected by censure and is not removed from any committees.

What is the Congress’s history with censure?

Following Tlaib’s censure, 26 members of the House have faced censure for a variety of offenses, ranging from bribery to engaging in sexual misconduct with a House page.

For example, Republican Representative Paul Gosar faced criticism in 2021 after sharing an anime clip in which he killed Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden.

Representative George Santos, who is accused of conspiracy, making false statements, wire fraud, document falsification, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud, was the target of a Democratic attempt to remove him from office. Attempt failed.

Rep. William Stanbery received the first-ever censure in 1832 for making fun of House Speaker Andrew Stevenson during a floor discussion. The slight? As for the speaker, Stanbery suggested that his eyes might be “too frequently shifting from the chair you take up toward the White House.”

Expulsion from the House requires the support of two-thirds of members, and only five have ever been done so.

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