Buzz
Amid recent accusations, Republican Senator Cory Gardner from Colorado stated that if Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore "refuses to step down and wins, the Senate should expel him, as he does not meet the ethical and moral standards expected in the United States Senate." At the same time, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey is facing a major corruption trial, with demands for his resignation or expulsion should he be convicted. Has a situation like this ever occurred before?
Yes, but it's been quite some time. Once someone is elected to the Senate, it's hard to remove them.
REFUSING TO SEAT
It is extremely rare for a senator to be outright refused a seat, but an incident over a century ago involved Alabama.
In 1913, Alabama Senator Joseph F. Johnston passed away shortly after the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. This Amendment allowed for the direct election of senators and clarified the state's role in calling special elections. Alabama’s governor initially appointed Representative Henry Clayton, but he quickly resigned. Frank Glass, a local newspaper editor, was next in line. However, as Glass was about to be seated, senators raised concerns about the legitimacy of his appointment, similar to those voiced over Clayton’s. One senator remarked at the time, 'I believe that the [17th] Amendment means exactly what it says. It is perfectly plain and unambiguous. It simply means from this time forward every senator of the United States must be elected by the people, unless the legislature of a state by express terms empowers the executive to make temporary appointments to fill vacancies. The legislature of the state of Alabama has not given such power to the executive.'
By a narrow vote of 32-31, the Senate decided not to seat Glass, leading to a special election in 1914 that resulted in the election of a new senator.
There have been several instances since of attempts to refuse seating a senator—most notably Roland Burris in 2009, who was appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich amidst corruption charges (though he was ultimately seated). However, in practice, such refusals are unlikely to succeed.
In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled in Powell v. McCormack that a duly elected representative could not be excluded from the House if they met the age, citizenship, and residency requirements of the Constitution. They could be expelled after taking their seat, but not excluded. This ruling is generally believed to apply to the Senate as well, meaning it would be unlikely for an elected senator to be excluded from their seat. However, once seated, expulsion remains a possibility.
EXPULSION
The United States Constitution states, 'Each House may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.' However, this is an extremely rare occurrence.
The first instance of expulsion took place in 1797, with William Blount, one of the first two senators from Tennessee. According to the Senate, Blount was involved in a plan to seize control of Spanish Florida and Louisiana and hand them over to the British with the help of Native Americans and frontiersmen. After this plot was uncovered, Blount was expelled, though not before being impeached by the House of Representatives (the House holds the sole power of impeachment, while the Senate is responsible for trying the impeachment). The Senate ultimately chose not to proceed with the trial, though the reasoning—whether it was due to senators believing themselves to be unimpeachable or because Blount was no longer a senator after being expelled—remains a matter of debate.
The next expulsion attempt occurred in 1808, when Ohio’s John Smith became entangled in the Aaron Burr controversies. The vote resulted in 19 in favor of expulsion and 10 against, but as the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority, Smith narrowly avoided expulsion by just one vote, although he resigned shortly afterward.
The most significant wave of expulsions occurred in 1861 and 1862, involving senators from the southern states. Since some senators still held their positions despite representing states that had seceded, it was determined that their status should be clarified through expulsion. On July 11, 1861, 10 senators were expelled (though the expulsion of William K. Sebastian from Arkansas was later reversed after it was concluded that the charges against him were unfounded). Later, additional senators were expelled for supporting the rebellion. A total of 14 senators were expelled during the Civil War. Since then, no senator has been expelled.
While there have been attempts since the Civil War, they have either resulted in exonerations or the senator resigning before the vote. The most recent near-expulsion occurred in 2011 with Nevada Senator John Ensign, who faced allegations of breaking federal laws in an attempt to conceal an affair. At the time, Senator Barbara Boxer of California stated that the case was 'substantial enough to warrant the consideration of expulsion.' Ensign ultimately chose to resign.
It has been 155 years since the last senator was expelled. Whether or when this will change remains to be seen.
