Censure

Censure is a Congressional procedure for reprimanding the President of the United States or a member of Congress for inappropriate behaviour. When used to condemn the commander-in-chief however it serves merely as a condemnation and has no direct effect on the validity of Presidency. Unlike Impeachment, Censure has no basis in the constitution, or in the rules of the Senate and House of Representatives. It derives from the formal condemnation of either Congressional House of their own members.

The one and only time a President has ever been censured was in 1834 when, under Whig control, the Senate reprimanded Democrat President Andrew Jackson for withholding documents. Three years later however, the censure was expunged by the Senate, by this point under Democratic control.

Though no framework for the process of censuring a President exists, it would likely come in the form of a Joint Resolution between both chambers, and then a public announcement. It would carry no legal effect but would probably be a large blow to the president's image. There was talk of censuring Bill Clinton in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky affair, but ultimately full impeachment was pursued instead.

More recently, there have been calls from groups such as MoveOn.org to censure President George W. Bush for allegedly lying to Congress about the claims made by the administration in the build up to war with Iraq, though these have been largely ignored.