Here Are The Three House Members Who Could Soon Face Discipline As Chamber Debates

The House of Representatives is expected to start dealing with controversial plans to either discipline or expel members Wednesday evening.

On the table is a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for her antisemitic comments and support of an anti-Israel rally on Capitol Hill; a resolution to censure Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., over a host of remarks, including anti-LGBTQ comments; and a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., as he faces a litany of criminal charges and criticism for lying about his background to win a seat in Congress.

Even though these three disciplinary measures are slated to come up on the House floor, it’s possible the House may only vote on motions to table each resolution. If the motion to table succeeds, the resolution is essentially done. However, if the House fails to table a resolution, it would go on do debate and vote directly on each measure to censure or expulsion.

The House will consider each resolution for Tlaib, Greene and Santos separately. It takes a simple majority to table the resolutions. A simple majority is also required to adopt a censure resolution. However, Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote to expel a lawmaker from the House.

Censure is “a formal, majority vote in the House on a resolution disapproving of a Member’s conduct.” It is the second-most serious form of discipline in the House, falling between reprimand and expulsion. A member must stand in the well of the House chamber and face a verbal rebuke by the House speaker when censured.

The House has censured 25 members in history, but the frequency of censures has increased in recent years. The House didn’t censure anyone between 1983 and 2010, when lawmakers voted to censure former Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., for failing to pay taxes and misusing his office.

In 2021, the House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for posting a video which depicted him violently attacking President Biden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. And in June, the House censured Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for his charges about collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The House has only expelled five members in history. The last was the late Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, in 2002.

A senior House Republican leadership source tells Fox it expects the House to table all three motions. But it’s truly unclear what the outcome might be. Leaders on either side won’t whip these votes to get a sense of where members stand. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., characterized the censure effort for Tlaib as a “vote of conscience.”

The House has voted against resolutions targeting Tlaib and Santos.

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