WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The House on Thursday voted to censure an unrepentant Rep. , D-Texas, for disrupting President address to Congress.
Green was joined in the well of the House by more than 20 fellow Democrats as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., read the censure resolution. Green and some of his colleagues began singing 鈥淲e Shall Overcome,鈥� an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, as Johnson spoke. Republicans in the chamber yelled 鈥渙rder鈥� as the singing continued. Eventually, Johnson declared the House in recess.
The resolution against Green was approved in a mostly party-line vote of 224-198. Ten Democrats voted for it; no Republicans voted against it.
Johnson had Green removed from the chamber during the early moments of Trump鈥檚 speech Tuesday night. Green at Trump after the Republican president said the Nov. 5 election had delivered a governing mandate not seen for many decades.
鈥淵ou have no mandate,鈥� the Houston lawmaker said, shaking a cane and refusing an order from Johnson to 鈥渢ake your seat, sir!鈥�
Republicans acted quickly to rebuke Green with a censure resolution that officially registers the House's deep disapproval of a member鈥檚 conduct.
There was also animated discussions among a handful of Green's supporters and Republicans after the vote. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., said Democrats were upset because they believe the rules of decorum in the chamber are not being equally enforced.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., confirmed the tenor of the exchange.
鈥淚n terms of rules of decorum, they're often violated by our Republican colleagues and the response is not punitive,鈥� Pressley said.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, the resolution's sponsor, said the censure effort was a 鈥渘ecessary, but difficult step.鈥�
鈥淭his resolution is offered in all seriousness, something that I believe we must do in order to get us to the next level of conduct in this hallowed chamber,鈥� said Newhouse, R-Wash.
Not the first outburst
It's the latest fallout of the boisterous behavior that has occurred during more recent presidential addresses to Congress. Outbursts from lawmakers have happened on of the political aisle.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., noted that Republicans were silent when members of their conference interrupted Democratic President Joe Biden's speech last year.
Some yelled 鈥渟ay her name鈥� to nursing student Laken Riley, as Biden spoke about immigration legislation that some lawmakers were working on. Riley while running on the University of Georgia campus by a Venezuelan citizen who illegally entered the United States in 2022 and had been allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.
鈥淣obody apologized for interrupting Joe Biden time and again,鈥� McGovern said. 鈥淵ou talk about lack of decorum. Go back and look at the tapes, and there was silence from the other side.鈥�
The resolution says Green's actions were a 鈥渂reach of proper conduct鈥� during a joint address and that he had to be removed from the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms 鈥渁fter numerous disruptions.鈥� Democrats tried to table it Wednesday, but that effort failed on a party-line vote.
Johnson tweeted before the vote that Green 鈥渄isgraced the institution of Congress and the constituents he serves.鈥�
鈥淎ny Democrat who is concerned about regaining the trust and respect of the American people should join House Republicans in this effort,鈥� Johnson said.
No apologies
Green, now serving his 11th term, offered no regrets Wednesday when he explained his actions. Before speaking in his own defense from the House floor, he walked up to the Republican side of the chamber and shook Newhouse's hand. Green said he did not blame Johnson or those who had escorted him out after his outburst.
鈥淔riends, I would do it again,鈥� Green said.
Green took to the House floor again Thursday, hours after the vote. He even read the resolution and called himself a 鈥減roud, liberated Democrat, unbought, unbossed and unafraid.鈥�
鈥淚 did disrupt and I did so because the president indicated he had a mandate and I wanted him to know he didn鈥檛 have a mandate to cut Medicaid,鈥� Green said.
House Republicans last week passed a budget blueprint that seeks some $880 billion in savings over 10 years from the committee that handles health care spending, including Medicaid. Democrats warn cuts to the program are unavoidable under the GOP's plan, yet Trump said last week about the state-federal health care program, 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to touch it.鈥�
Some Democratic lawmakers skipped Trump's address. Others walked out during it. With tensions clearly on the rise, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York had told colleagues beforehand that 鈥渋t is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber.鈥�
鈥淚 think Al Green was telling the truth,鈥� said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif. He was among the dozens of Democrats who held up signs that said 鈥淔alse鈥� and displayed other protest slogans throughout Trump鈥檚 speech.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who was speaker during Trump's first term, recalled her own during a Trump address when she ripped his speech up after he handed it to her following his address.
"Everybody has to make their expression of how they see things. I think we should keep our focus on the president鈥檚 speech,鈥� Pelosi said.
Trump, in an interview with Fox News Digital, was harshly critical of Green.
鈥淣obody takes him seriously,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淗e is an embarrassment to Congress but a much bigger embarrassment to the Democrats.鈥�
Censures becoming less rare
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most conservative Republicans, indicated that the censure vote was not the last of the efforts to punish Green. The group's chairman, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said a resolution would be filed next week to take away Green's committee assignments.
The punishment by censure is a rather , with Green becoming the 28th House member cited. But there has been a spate in the past four years, beginning with Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in 2021, when Democrats were in the majority. In 2023, Republicans took back the House and censured three Democrats 鈥� Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and then-Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Adam Schiff of California.
___
Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Lisa Mascaro and Leah Askarinam contributed to this report.
Kevin Freking, The Associated Press
