The House voted 224-198 Thursday to censure Rep. Al Green for disrupting President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress this week.
Green shouted at Trump during the Tuesday night address and was ordered removed from the House chamber by Speaker Mike Johnson, prompting a flurry of GOP efforts to punish him for the disruption.
The censure measure was introduced and called up by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) through a fast-track process allowing for quick consideration on the House floor. Democratic leaders didn’t formally whip against the measure, and 10 Democrats voted with all Republicans in support of the censure.
Typically a censured member is immediately made to stand in the well of the House to formally receive punishment. But Green and more than a dozen colleagues stood in the well singing “We Shall Overcome” after the vote, forcing Johnson to put the House in recess instead.
After Johnson left the chamber, Democrats and Republicans argued with each other on the floor, each blaming the other for the chaos. Reps. Dan Meuser and Ryan Mackenzie, both Pennsylvania Republicans, were particularly heated in expressing their disappointment with Democrats. As the bickering continued, Green walked off the House floor, hugging colleagues on the way.
The House reconvened after about 25 minutes without proceeding with the reading of the censure. Johnson during the recess said in an interview with Fox News that Green’s actions on Tuesday were “shameful.”
During the debate on the censure earlier in the morning, Newhouse said it was imperative to “maintain a standard in the House of Representatives.”
“Any member’s refusal to adhere to the speaker’s direction to cease such behavior, regardless of their political party, regardless of who is at the lectern giving a speech — this has to and must continue to be reprimanded,” he said. “We cannot afford to let it go by.”
Censures, once a rare congressional punishment, have become increasingly common. House Republished punished several Democrats last Congress, including Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for triggering a Capitol fire alarm and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for her views on the Israel-Hamas war.
Green is not the first member to be sanctioned for a joint-session outburst. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) was reprimanded by the House in 2009 for interrupting then-President Barack Obama’s speech by shouting “you lie.”
Democratic leaders urged lawmakers not to disrupt Trump’s speech and to mount a “solemn” response, but many Democrats — itching for a fight with Trump — opted to shout, walk out or otherwise protest on Tuesday night.
Green has described his protest as a spontaneous decision and has said he was prepared to accept the consequences for his actions. He said he is also planning on introducing articles of impeachment against Trump, something he did twice before curing Trump’s first term.
The tensions will continue: The House Freedom Caucus said later on Thursday it would introduce a new measure to strip Green of his committee assignments on the Financial Services and Homeland Security Committees, with an expectation Johnson will bring the resolution to the House floor for a vote next week.
