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WaPo: Yes, there is something the House can do to punish Trump right now
Yes, there is something the House can do to punish Trump right now
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/21/yes-there-is-something-house-can-do-punish-trump-right-now/
Many Democrats have made the case that this is impeachable behavior on Trump’s part. Many others — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — point out that impeaching Trump would be a futile gesture, because the Republican-led Senate would never vote to remove him from office. Those who are resisting impeachment also raise a valid concern that, whatever the merits, the backlash over a drawn-out impeachment proceeding could actually help Trump win a second term.
This argument will continue, with new fuel being added by the administration’s refusal to turn over a whistleblower’s complaint regarding the Trump-Zelensky conversation. It is hard to see how it could possibly be resolved before we are well into the 2020 campaign season. But there is something the House could do right now, an idea that I have raised before: censure the president.
The procedure for doing so is pretty straightforward, as spelled out in a recent report by the Congressional Research Service:
In other words, a censure resolution could be brought to the House floor with support from Democrats alone, and it would not require any action on the part of the Senate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/21/yes-there-is-something-house-can-do-punish-trump-right-now/
Many Democrats have made the case that this is impeachable behavior on Trump’s part. Many others — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — point out that impeaching Trump would be a futile gesture, because the Republican-led Senate would never vote to remove him from office. Those who are resisting impeachment also raise a valid concern that, whatever the merits, the backlash over a drawn-out impeachment proceeding could actually help Trump win a second term.
This argument will continue, with new fuel being added by the administration’s refusal to turn over a whistleblower’s complaint regarding the Trump-Zelensky conversation. It is hard to see how it could possibly be resolved before we are well into the 2020 campaign season. But there is something the House could do right now, an idea that I have raised before: censure the president.
The procedure for doing so is pretty straightforward, as spelled out in a recent report by the Congressional Research Service:
Should a House committee report a non-Member censure resolution, the full House may consider it by unanimous consent, under the Suspension of the Rules procedure, or under the terms of a special rule reported by the Committee on Rules and adopted by the House. 17 If widespread support exists for the censure resolution, unanimous consent or the Suspension of the Rules procedure may be used. Otherwise, the resolution could be brought to the floor under a special rule reported by the Committee on Rules. All three of these parliamentary mechanisms require, at a minimum, the support of the majority party leadership in order to be entertained.
In other words, a censure resolution could be brought to the House floor with support from Democrats alone, and it would not require any action on the part of the Senate.
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