After Rep. Al Green of Houston repeatedly created a ruckus in the House Chambers during Tuesday’s joint session to hear the annual address the president, the House has voted to censure him.
Green shouted and shook his ornate cane at the president and was repeatedly admonished to come back to order by Speaker Mike Johnson, but he instead moved into the aisle and kept shouting that the president doesn’t have a mandate. He was disagreeing with the speech by President Donald Trump.
Congressman Dan Newhouse of Central Washington led the resolution, which passed on a mostly partisan vote, 224-198, with two not voting, and 10 Democrats voting to censure.
“President Trump’s address to Congress was not a debate or a forum; he was invited by the Speaker to outline his agenda for the American people,” Newhouse said. “The actions by my colleague from Texas broke the rules of decorum in the House, and he must be held accountable. We can and must do better, and it is critical that we reprimand this behavior and restore respect for the institution, each other, and the people that sent us here to work for them.”
Republicans argued that Green didn’t just heckle Trump, but yelled repeatedly, waved his cane around in the air, ignored the speaker’s warnings three times, and appeared to self-victimize with the intention of being removed and making himself a martyr.
Democrats said that his removal violated his right to free speech. In an attempt to disrupt the reading of the censure of Green, Democrats start singing “We Shall Overcome” on the House floor on Thursday morning.
There is no real effect of the censure, which can be read here.
