(WASHINGTON) — The House voted on Thursday to censure Democrat Al Green over his outburst at President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress on Tuesday night.
The Republican-led effort passed 224-198 with two members voting present, one of them being Green. Ten Democrats voted on the resolution to censure Green.
The Texas Democrat was immediately called to the well for a public reading of the resolution by Speaker Mike Johnson. Green and other Democrats surrounding him there began singing the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome,” which prompted the Republican side to yell “order.”
A screaming match between House Democrats and Republicans broke out. At one point, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley yelled back, “Shame on you!” Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib also shouted at Republicans.
In a brief appearance on Fox News after the vote, Johnson called it “a really sad day for out institution.”
Moments before the vote, Johnson had told ABC News he took “no pleasure in making history like this” and hoped Green would “acknowledge his mistake.”
“I want us to have proper decorum. I want us to maintain really the great tradition of this institution,” Johnson said. “And these things do damage to it and I’m sorry that it happened.”
Green was ejected from the joint session on Tuesday after interrupting the president’s speech and refusing to sit down despite warnings from Johnson.
“He chose to deliberately violate House rules in a manner that we think is probably unprecedented in history — interrupting a message of a president of the United States, who is an honored guest,” Johnson explained ahead of the vote.
Several members of the GOP conference were circulating different resolutions to censure Green the morning after Trump’s speech. Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse was the first to formally introduce a resolution on the House floor on Wednesday.
“Decorum and order are the institutional grounds for the way we do business in the United States Congress, and the sheer disregard for that standard during President Trump’s address by the gentleman from Texas is unacceptable,” Newhouse said in a statement. “A Member’s refusal to adhere to the Speaker’s direction to cease such behavior, regardless of their party, has and will continue to be reprimanded in the people’s House.”
Democrats tried and failed on Wednesday evening to block the censure measure.
A censure resolution is a formal reprimand by the House for violations of the chamber’s code of conduct. A vote to censure a member of the House does not hold any power beyond a public condemnation of the member’s behavior and it does not deny the member privileges.
Censuring House members has been historically rare, but in the last few years we’ve seen members from both political parties use this as a political tool. Green is the fifth member of Congress to be censured in this decade.
Green on Wednesday defended his actions, saying, “I would do it again.”
“I am not angry with the speaker. I am not angry with the officers. I am not upset with the members who are going to bring the motions or resolutions to sanction. I will suffer the consequences,” he said.
Green’s outburst happened within minutes of Trump’s address, when the president called his electoral victory a “mandate.” Green, an 11-term Democrat representing the Houston area, stood up and pointed his cane as he shouted, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid.”
Johnson slammed his gavel and gave a warning to lawmakers assembled to maintain decorum, telling Green several times to take his seat. As Green continued to protest, Johnson called for him to be removed.
Green is not the only lawmaker to interrupt a presidential address to Congress. In 2022, Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert repeatedly interrupted then-President Joe Biden’s speech. Greene did it again during Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address.
On “Good Morning America” the next day, Johnson defended his decision to have Green removed.
“Al Green was trying to interrupt the entire proceeding. But look, I’ll just say this. If the Democrats want a 77-year-old congressman to be the face of their resistance, heckling the president, then bring it on,” he said.
Green told ABC News late Tuesday night he was “following the wishes of conscience.”
“There are times when it it better to stand alone than not stand at all,” Green said. He added, “At some point, we’re all going to have to stand up.”
Ten Democrats voted to censure Green: Reps. Ami Bera of California, Ed Case of Hawaii, Jim Costa of California, Laura Gillen of New York, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Wahsingont and Tom Suozzi of New York.
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