WASHINGTON — The House is expected to vote on censuring an unrepentant Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, on Thursday for his outburst during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had Green removed from the chamber during the early moments of Trump’s speech Tuesday night. The Houston lawmaker stood and shouted at Trump after the president said the Nov. 5 election had delivered a mandate not seen for many decades.
“You have no mandate,” Green said, refusing an order from Johnson to “take your seat, sir!”
Republicans moved swiftly to rebuke Green with a censure resolution that officially registers the House’s deep disapproval of a member’s conduct. Once it’s approved by majority vote, the member is asked to stand in the well of the House while the speaker or presiding officer reads the resolution.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and the resolution’s sponsor, called it a “necessary, but difficult step.”
“This 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,” Newhouse said.
The censure resolution is just the latest example of the boisterous behavior that has occurred during presidential addresses to Congress. It’s certainly happened on bothsides of the political aisle.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., noted that Republicans were silent when members of their conference interrupted President Joe Biden’s speech last year.
Some yelled “say her name” in reference to nursing student Laken Riley, as Biden spoke about immigration legislation some lawmakers were working on. Riley was killed while running on the University of Georgia campus by a Venezuelan citizen who illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and had been allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.
“Where were my Republican friends? Nobody apologized for interrupting Joe Biden time and again,” McGovern said. “You talk about lack of decorum. Go back and look at the tapes, and there was silence from the other side.”
The censure resolution states that Green’s actions were a “breach of proper conduct” during a joint address and noted his removal “after numerous disruptions.” Democrats tried to table it Wednesday, but that effort failed on a party-line vote.
Green, now serving his 11th term, offered no regrets when he explained his actions on the House floor Wednesday. Before speaking in his own defense, he walked up to the Republican side of the chamber and shook Newhouse’s hand. He said he didn’t blame Johnson or those who escorted him out.
“Friends, I would do it again,” Green said.
He explained his actions by saying Trump had indicated he had a mandate. But Green said Trump doesn’t have a mandate to cut Medicaid, a program that many of his constituents rely on.
“This is a matter of principle. This is a matter of conscience,” Green said. “There are people suffering in this country because they don’t have health care.”
He concluded his remarks by saying, “on some issues that are matters of conscience, it is better to stand alone than not stand at all.”
Some Democratic lawmakers skipped Trump’s address. Others walked out during it. With tensions clearly on the rise, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries had told colleagues “it is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber.”
Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., said it was a hard speech to sit through and that she imagined it would be particularly difficult for Green, noting he had lived through the Civil Rights movement and was now seeing a backlash from Republicans on diversity and equity efforts.
“I think Al Green was telling the truth. He does not have the mandate to cut Medicaid,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif. Takano was among the dozens of Democrats who held up signs reading “False” and other protest slogans throughout Trump’s speech.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said that Democrats like Green “need to go get some medical help” over the “level of derangement” the opposition party displayed during the speech.
“I think my Democratic colleagues really embarrassed themselves tonight, and their leadership should be even more ashamed of themselves. They sat there and allowed it to happen and didn’t say a word,” said Lawler.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who served as speaker during Trump’s first term, recalled her own memorable moment 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’s speech,” Pelosi said.
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Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Lisa Mascaro and Leah Askarinam contributed to this report.
