Congress targets Trump and six GOP lawmakers with formal censure over statements made regarding Jan. 6 insurrection

Formal U.S. House censure resolutions have been filed against six Republican lawmakers and former president Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Three censure resolutions were filed against Trump, while the Congress members each were slapped with one for statements made before, after or about the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol intended to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election win, reported NBC News correspondent Scott MacFarlane.

Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Jody Hice (R-GA) were referred to the House Ethics Committee for statements they made about or before the riot.

A censure is a formal majority vote to disapprove of a member's conduct that requires the offender to receive a verbal rebuke and a reading of the resolution by the House speaker, and is essentially a form of public humiliation and the most serious form of punishment short of expulsion.

Only 23 representatives have been censured, most recently in 2010 against former Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), who was censured for 11 ethics violations including improper solicitation of funds and failure to pay taxes.