The House on Thursday voted to censure an unrepentant Rep. Al Green of Texas for disrupting President Trump's address to Congress, reports the AP. House Speaker Mike Johnson had Green removed from the chamber during the early moments of Trump's speech Tuesday night. Green stood and shouted at Trump after the president said the Nov. 5 election had delivered a governing mandate not seen for many decades. "You have no mandate," the Houston lawmaker said, shaking a cane and refusing an order from Johnson to "take your seat, sir!"
Republicans acted quickly to rebuke Green with a censure resolution that officially registers the House's deep disapproval of a member's conduct. Once such a resolution is 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. The resolution against Green was approved in a mostly party-line vote of 224-198. Rep. Dan Newhouse, the resolution's sponsor, said it was 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," said Newhouse.
The censure resolution says Green's actions were a "breach of proper conduct" during a joint address and that his removal came "after numerous disruptions." Democrats tried to table it Wednesday, but that effort failed on a party-line vote. Johnson tweeted before Thursday's vote that Green "disgraced the institution of Congress and the constituents he serves." Green offered no regrets on Wednesday. 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 didn't blame Johnson or those who'd escorted him out after his outburst. "Friends, I would do it again," Green said. "This is a matter of conscience. There are people suffering in this country because they don't have health care."
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