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The United States Constitution gives the Senate the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote. This is distinct from the impeachment power the Senate has over executive and judicial federal officials. The Senate concluded in 1798 that Senators could not be impeached, but only expelled, while conducting the impeachment trial of William Blount, who had already been expelled.[1]
Expulsion is an extremely rare event. It has not occurred since the Civil War, which most of the expulsions were related to, although this is partly because many members resign rather than face a formal proceeding when expulsion appears possible. Censure, a lesser punishment which represents a formal statement of disapproval, has been more common in the last century. Although censure carries no formal punishment, only one Senator (Benjamin R. Tillman) of the nine to be censured has ever been re-elected.
Many expulsion proceedings have been begun by the Senate that did not lead to expulsion. In most cases, the expulsion failed to secure the necessary two-thirds vote; in other cases the Senator in question resigned while proceedings were taking place, presumably because the Senator felt that the proceedings would succeed or that his political career would not survive them regardless. In a few cases, the proceedings ended when a Senator died or his term expired.
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