Attendance: Can They Just Not Show Up?
There's no law requiring members to come to work. Seriously.
There is no law requiring members of Congress to show up to work. The Constitution says each chamber can "compel the Attendance of absent Members" with penalties, but in practice this power is almost never used. A member could theoretically be sworn in and rarely return to Washington.
What does happen: missed votes are publicly recorded and tracked (you can see every member's attendance rate on our site). Political opponents use poor attendance records in campaign ads. The media covers chronic absenteeism. And voters can choose not to re-elect members who don't show up.
The House and Senate each have their own quorum requirements — a majority of members must be present to conduct official business. If a quorum isn't present, a "quorum call" can be issued to compel attendance. But day-to-day, members frequently miss votes for committee hearings, travel, illness, or political events.
There is no mechanism to fire a member of Congress. Only the chamber itself can expel a member, requiring a two-thirds vote. This has happened only 20 times in history — 17 of those during the Civil War. Short of expulsion, the Ethics Committee can recommend censure (a formal public reprimand) or other penalties, but the member keeps their seat. The ultimate accountability mechanism is the next election.