Yes, a sitting member of Congress can be removed from office

Editor's Note: The House voted to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York on Friday, Dec. 1, after a critical ethics report on his conduct accused him of converting campaign donations for his own use. This makes Santos the sixth House member in history to be expelled by his colleagues.

Expulsion requires support from two-thirds of the House. The vote to expel was 311-114. The original story appears as published below: 

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who has made headlines for fabricating parts of his life story, faces 23 criminal charges in an indictment filed on Tuesday, Oct. 10. 

The new indictment, which replaces one filed in May 2023, accuses Santos of stealing campaign donors’ identities and then using their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. Some of that stolen money ended up in Santos’ own bank account, prosecutors say. 

Santos is also accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Elections Commission that he had loaned his campaign $500,000, when he actually hadn’t given anything and had less than $8,000 in the bank.

The criminal charges revived questions on whether Santos can be removed from office.

THE QUESTION

Can a sitting member of Congress be removed from office?

THE SOURCES

• U.S. Constitution
• Congressional Research Service
• U.S. House of Representatives

THE ANSWER

Yes, a sitting member of Congress can be removed from office.

WHAT WE FOUND

Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution says that a two-thirds majority vote in the House is needed to expel one of its members. The rules for removing a member are the same in the Senate.

Expulsion by a two-thirds vote is the only way to remove a sitting member of either chamber of Congress, unless they resign or die. 

The Constitution doesn’t provide a mechanism for voters or anyone else to recall a U.S. Congress member, and to date no members have been recalled, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says. This differs from elected officials at the state and local level, where there are rules and procedures in place to recall officers like governors. 

Only 20 members of Congress have been expelled – 18 of them for treason – and that happened mostly during the Civil War. The other two expulsions were members who were convicted on corruption charges, the most recent being in 2002, according to House archives.

There are other types of discipline Congress can issue to a member for alleged misconduct that don’t include expulsion, the CRS says. The following disciplinary actions can be taken in both the House and the Senate: 

• Censure: A censure is a formal statement of disapproval and requires a formal, majority vote on a resolution disapproving a member’s conduct. 
• Reprimand: Another statement of disapproval, but a lesser punishment than a censure. A reprimand also requires a formal vote by a majority in the House.
• “Letter of Reproval”: Issued by the House Ethics Committee; a letter that indicates a member committed misconduct, but it did not rise to the level of formal punishment.
• If the alleged misconduct was financial, a member could have to pay monetary restitution.
• Loss of seniority, which could include being stripped of committee seats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.