Democrat Al Green censured for disrupting Trump speech

The US Congress has voted to censure Texas Democrat Al Green, who was ejected from the House chamber on Tuesday after disrupting President Donald Trump's address to the nation.

Ten Democrats sided with Republicans to punish Green for heckling and waving his cane at Trump during the president's joint session of Congress.

The resolution, which said Green's behaviour was "a breach of proper conduct", passed by 224 to 198 votes.

After the vote was held, the long-serving Democrat was ordered to stand in the well of the House chamber while the resolution was read aloud.

The culmination of the vote resulted in a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats in the chamber.

Green and fellow Democrats began singing "We Shall Overcome", which appeared to frustrate some Republicans on the floor.

Republican Dan Meuser at one point told Democrat Ayanna Pressley, "Al was wrong," leading Pressley to respond: "your members do the same thing," according to The Hill.

Pressley was likely referring to the headline-generating disruptions by Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert during Joe Biden's 2022 State of the Union speech.

After the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson said "this is a really sad day for our institution", but also said it was "critically important" to "maintain the dignity of this place".

"That was the first time that any member of congress had to be removed in the middle of a presidential address," Johnson, a Republican, said.

The top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, had a different view, saying the censure resolution was "not worth the piece of paper that it was written on".

"Republicans are playing political and partisan games with their censure resolutions, because they are on the run" from issues like the economy, he said at a news conference.

He did not comment on Green's behaviour specifically and earlier in the week had encouraged lawmakers to have a "dignified" presence in the chamber.

Hours after his censure, Green wrote on X: "I accept the consequences of my actions, but I refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice."

He also announced that he "absolutely" planned to file articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, during a TMZ interview.

He said the decision was based on the president's "incivility", noting that Trump mocked Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and called her "Pocahontas" during his address.

"We cannot allow him to just continue to step on us like that," Green said.

With Republicans in control of the House and Senate, the impeachment effort is almost certain to fail.

Green's fellow Democrats had attempted to block the censure vote, with some arguing his decision to stand, wave his cane and heckle Trump was a legitimate act of protest.

The measure was introduced by congressman Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington, who said the decision to call for Green to be censured was not an easy one.

"We cannot ignore the wilful disruption intended to stop a proceeding," Newhouse said on Wednesday. "Without decorum, without respect, what do we got? What do we have, truly?"

On Tuesday, just minutes into Trump's address, Green stood up and shouted: "Mr President, you don't have a mandate!"

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Green to take his seat and "maintain decorum", but Green refused. Johnson then ordered his removal from the chamber.

Green is a fierce critic of President Trump, and called for the impeachment of the president during his first term in office.

The 10 Democrats who voted to censure Green were members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, and included Rep Jim Himes from Connecticut, who said he supported the measure because he had also voted to censure a Republican for heckling Barack Obama in 2009.

"At the end of the day, I think we need to stand up for the things that we believe regardless of which party benefits or loses," Himes said.

A censure is a formal statement of disapproval that requires a majority vote in the House to pass. It does not remove a member from Congress.

Censures are relatively rare occurrences, though in recent years they have become more common.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, was censured in 2023 for comments she made over the Israel-Gaza war.

Also in 2023, now former Congressman Jamaal Bowman, was censured for falsely pulling a fire alarm while Congress was in session.

Twenty-eight members of the House have been censured in total.