U.S. Senate: Reference Home > Virtual Reference Desk > Censure

U.S. Senate: Reference Home > Virtual Reference Desk > Censure: "Censure

Less severe than expulsion, a censure (sometimes referred to as condemnation or denouncement) does not remove a senator from office. It is a formal statement of disapproval, however, that can have a powerful psychological effect on a member and his/her relationships in the Senate. In 1834, the Senate censured President Andrew Jackson – the first and only time the Senate censured a president. Since 1789 the Senate has censured nine of its members."