Before McCarthy, there had only been five cases of censure in the history of the Senate, but his conduct had become so outrageous, that it was felt something must be done. Vice President Richard Nixon, appointed a bi-partisan committee, headed by Watkins to review and determine whether censure was warranted. On 5 August 1954, the names of the committee members were released: Arthur Watkins (Rep. Utah), Frank Carlson (Rep. Kansas), Francis Case (Rep. South Dakota), Edwin C. Johnson (Dem. Colorado) John Stennis (Dem. Mississippi), and Sam Ervin (Dem, North Carolina). The Senators were hand-picked by Nixon because they were men who "played by the rule", who had the respect of other Senators, were neither liberal nor "media hounds", and were not presidential contenders. They began meeting on 31 August 1954 for what would amount to 2 months of hearings.