Has the removal of a member of Congress ever been tried?
There is only one documented case of an attempted impeachment of a member of Congress, in 1797. Though the House of Representatives voted to impeach Sen. William Blount, the Senate rejected the move for reasons including that he was not considered a "civil officer" based on his role in Congress and that he had already been expelled, which made impeachment a moot point.As for expulsion, 15 senators and five members of the House have met that fate in the history of the United States. Most were related to Civil War infractions. The United States hasn't seen an expulsion since 2002, when Ohio Rep. James Traficant was convicted on bribery, racketeering and tax evasion charges.
