Monday, November 13, 2017

Can the Senate Refuse to Seat Roy Moore?

If Roy Moore who has been accused of sexual harassment and child abuse is elected to the U.S. Senate in the Alabama special election, can the U.S. Senate refuse to seat him or remove him from office once he is seated?

The answer is Yes.  Article I, Section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution provides for expulsion of  a member upon a formal vote on a resolution to expel agreed to by a two-thirds vote.       

If elected, will Moore be expelled?  No.  Not only will Republicans refuse to remove a fellow Republican but the Senate historically has been extremely reluctant to remove a member who was elected by voters who were aware of his/her mis-behavior at the time of the election.  In other words, if Alabama voters want to elect a child abuser to represent them in the Senate, they will be allowed to do so.  The will of the voters will not be lightly overturned.

That’s sad, but true.

Read more about the expulsion process here:



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