Reps. Don Beyer (D‑Va.) and Don Bacon (R‑Neb.) have proposed raising the House censure threshold from a simple majority to 60 percent and applying the same standard to removing members from committee assignments. The proposal comes after several recent censure efforts and a separate push to expel Rep. Sheila Cherfilus‑McCormick. Sponsors say the change aims to reduce partisan or symbolic censures and refocus the chamber on governing. The resolution would not change the two‑thirds requirement for expulsion.
Bipartisan Push Seeks 60% Vote Threshold to Censure House Members
Reps. Don Beyer (D‑Va.) and Don Bacon (R‑Neb.) have proposed raising the House censure threshold from a simple majority to 60 percent and applying the same standard to removing members from committee assignments. The proposal comes after several recent censure efforts and a separate push to expel Rep. Sheila Cherfilus‑McCormick. Sponsors say the change aims to reduce partisan or symbolic censures and refocus the chamber on governing. The resolution would not change the two‑thirds requirement for expulsion.
03:38 PM, 11/21/2025Politics
Reps. Don Beyer (D‑Va.) and Don Bacon (R‑Neb.) introduced a bipartisan resolution to raise the vote threshold needed to censure a House member from a simple majority to 60 percent and to require the same 60 percent margin to remove a colleague from a committee assignment.
Background
The move follows several recent censure efforts since the House returned from a nearly two‑month recess, including actions targeting Reps. Chuy García (D‑Ill.), Cory Mills (R‑Fla.) and Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D‑U.S. Virgin Islands). Separately, Rep. Greg Steube (R‑Fla.) is leading an effort to expel Rep. Sheila Cherfilus‑McCormick (D‑Fla.).
What the proposal would change
Under current House rules, a censure is a formal reprimand that requires only a simple majority. The Beyer‑Bacon resolution would raise that bar to 60 percent of House members. It would also require a 60 percent vote to remove a member from a committee assignment. The measure does not alter the longstanding two‑thirds majority required for expulsion.
“The censure process in the House is broken — all of us know it,” the sponsors wrote in a letter to colleagues. “These cycles of censure and punishment impair our ability to work together for the American people, pull our focus away from problems besetting the country, and inflict lasting damage on this institution.”
Historically, 28 House members and nine senators have been censured. Expulsion, which requires a two‑thirds majority, is far rarer: 21 members of Congress have been expelled, 17 of them during the Civil War era for backing the Confederacy. The most recent expulsion occurred in 2023, when former Rep. George Santos (R‑N.Y.) was removed from office.
The resolution's sponsors say the change would curb symbolic or partisan censures and help the House focus on governance. House members can co‑sponsor the resolution until 12 p.m. on Friday.