Ten Democrats joined with House Republicans on Thursday to censure Rep. Al Green for his protest during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress this week — a formal condemnation of the Texas Democrat’s actions.
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The vote highlights divisions within the Democratic Party over how some members protested the president’s remarks. Locked out of power in Washington, Democrats are searching to find a compelling, unified message to counter Trump and the new administration – a struggle playing out not only on Capitol Hill but across the country.
Divergent tactics were on full display during the Tuesday night address, with some Democrats holding signs, walking out or boycotting it altogether. Others took a more muted approach, following the guidance of House Democratic leadership, who had urged members not to mount high-profile protests and to show restraint during the address, cautioning that the GOP could seize on such actions.
Once considered rare in the House chamber, censure has been used more frequently in recent years. It amounts to a significant rebuke of a member of Congress, though it does not carry an explicit penalty beyond a public admonition of a lawmaker and is not as severe as expulsion.
It remains to be seen whether Green faces further reprimand for his actions, as a group of conservative lawmakers plans to file a measure to strip the congressman of his committee assignments. The House Freedom Caucus said they expect that to be brought to the floor next week.
Lawmakers ultimately voted 224-198 to censure Green, with the congressman and freshman Democrat Rep. Shomari Figures of Alabama voting “present.”
As House Speaker Mike Johnson called for the congressman to be formally censured following the vote, Green led a group of Democrats in singing the gospel song, “We Shall Overcome” on the House floor, upsetting some Republicans who called for order. Johnson then called the House into recess so the floor could be cleared.
The 10 Democrats who voted with Republicans to censure Green were: Ami Bera of California, Ed Case of Hawaii, Jim Costa of California, Laura Gillen of New York, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Tom Suozzi of New York.
“I don’t mind being one of 10 Democrats who said, no, there’s a deeper principle at stake here, which is reverence for this institution,” Himes said after the vote, adding that lawmakers need to act “with the decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country.”
“I have no love for Donald Trump, but I do have reverence for the Office of the President,” he told CNN’s Pamela Brown.
Most of the 10 the Democrats are considered centrists in the party, and belong to either the Blue Dog Coalition, the New Democrat Coalition or the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
Many represent competitive seats, including three of the Democrats – Kaptur, Suozzi and Gluesenkamp Perez – who represent districts that Trump won in November.
The number of Democrats supporting the measure surprised some in the party, who had been expecting more unity.
But some lawmakers said anger is growing among Democrats about Green’s antics — which they believe have consumed headlines and distracted from Trump’s actions, such as his plan to unwind the Department of Education.
“People are pissed,” one Democratic lawmaker said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party dynamics. The lawmaker added that Green’s antics were viewed as “selfish” after party leaders made clear they wanted their members to act somberly during the address.
“A lot of people are like, why aren’t we on the same team?” that member said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that it was a vote that his caucus “took without any official recommendation” from the Democratic whip. “And people made a decision based on what they view to be the right thing to do connected to their district,” the top House Democrat told reporters after the vote.
Speaking on the House floor later Thursday, Green said he has “no reason in my heart to be upset” over the House’s vote to censure him.
Green, 77, disrupted Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson to remove the Democratic lawmaker from the chamber. Green on Wednesday told reporters he’d “suffer the consequences” of his protest and that he would do it all again. Green has said that he was protesting Trump over the issue of Medicaid.
“I have no ill feelings toward the speaker, none toward the persons that escorted me away from the floor, because I did disrupt. And I did so because the president indicated that he had a mandate. And I wanted him to know that he didn’t have a mandate to cut Medicaid,” he said Thursday in a speech on the House floor.
Democrats have been warning that Medicaid could be at risk as Republicans eye major spending cuts to advance Trump’s legislative agenda.
Johnson earlier Thursday criticized Green’s behavior during the speech as “shameful and egregious,” saying it “disgraced the institution of Congress.”
“He deliberately violated House rules, and an expeditious vote of censure is an appropriate remedy. Any Democrat who is concerned about regaining the trust and respect of the American people should join House Republicans in this effort,” Johnson said in a morning post on X.
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