BUFFALO, N.Y. — Representative Tom Reed, of New York's 23rd Congressional District, is calling for the censure of President Donald Trump. He announced that he will take part in a censure resolution in a January 11 New York Times op-ed.
The censure resolution, according to Reed, is expected Tuesday by members of the House. If passed, a censure would be a public statement of disapproval by a branch of, or all of Congress, of the president. Censure can be passed by either just the House, just the Senate, or both.
The move wouldn't remove Trump from office, like impeachment. But according to the US Senate's website, censure "can have a powerful psychological effect on a member and his/her relationships in the Senate"
Reed says he's joining the effort to censure the president "to ensure accountability occurs without delay for the events of Jan. 6."
If passed, this would be only the second time a president has been censured. The last time a president was censured was March 28,1834.
President Andrew Jackson was censured by the Senate over a series of events relating to the future of the Bank of the United States. Jackson's censure was later expunged.
Reed's op-ed focused on alternatives he believes Congress should take rather than impeachment.
"Such options include censure, criminal proceedings and actions under the 14th Amendment, after a complete and thorough investigation into the events leading up to the assault on the Capitol, " Reed wrote in the Times.
But, the Republican representative did not rule out options that would prevent Trump from reelection in the future, which is part some Congressmembers reasoning behind impeachment.
"We must also look at alternatives that could allow Congress to bar Mr. Trump from holding federal office in the future," Reed wrote.
On the day of the Capitol insurrection, Reed called what happened that day an assault on democracy.
"What I saw today was mob rule, that spat upon the blood of my father, that is in the soil of Europe and the soil of Korea. And who gave us, through that blood, this sacred constitution, and the sacred ability to lead this world as a power that says we settle our differences, not with mob rule, we settle our differences through elections. And when those elections are over, we have a peaceful transition of power," Reed said in a speech on the House floor.
Reed said in the New York Times article that he has acknowledged Joe Biden as president-elect.
Reed told Democrats in that House floor speech that "make no mistake" he still stands for his Republican ideas and beliefs, but for that night, he stands with Democrats to say that what happened on January 6 was not American.
He added that, on that night, he would stand with them to show "what we do in America and that is to transfer power in a peaceful way."