[20180312]LSB10096_谴责总统的合宪性.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i The Constitutionality of Censuring the President March 12, 2018 House Democrats have introduced a resolution that, if approved by the House, would formally “censure and condemn” President Trump for disparaging comments on immigration issues he allegedly made during a meeting with Members of Congress. This is the second presidential “censure” resolution introduced in the House this Congress. While each house of Congress has authority to discipline its own Members through censure, congressional censure of the President is rare. For that reason, there seems to be a recurring question as to whether Congress has the constitutional authority to adopt such a measure at all. As discussed below, it would appear that Congress may censure the President through a simple (one chamber) or concurrent (two chamber) resolution, or other non-binding measure, so long as the censure does not carry with it any legal consequence. This Sidebar will discuss examples of congressional censure of the President before addressing its constitutional validity. While Blacks Law Dictionary defines censure as “an official repr