These 10 Democrats voted to censure Al Green

Ten House Democrats joined Republicans in voting to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Thursday, rebuking the 11-term congressman for his disruptive protest during President Trump’s speech to Congress.

The chamber adopted the censure resolution in a 224-198-2 vote, less than 48 hours after Green stood up, waved his cane in the air and yelled at Trump during his speech, prompting his eventual removal from the chamber. The vote made him the 28th member of the House to be censured.

House Democratic leadership did not whip on the Green censure resolution, allowing lawmakers to decide on their own whether to support it.

In the end, 10 Democrats backed the measure: Reps. Ami Bera (Calif.), Ed Case (Hawaii), Jim Costa (Calif.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Jim Himes (Conn.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Jared Moskowitz (Fla.) and Tom Suozzi (N.Y.).

The group is composed of centrists, members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and front-liners.

Green and Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.) voted “present.”

Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he backed the censure resolution because he supported a similar, but diluted, effort in 2009 to disapprove of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) when he yelled out “you lie!” during then-President Obama’s address to Congress.

“I voted to disapprove of Joe Wilson’s actions when he shouted at a different president, and I revere this institution, which I understand is a very unpopular position today,” Himes told The Hill. “But I’m sure I could construct a fairly elaborate argument that Trump is different than Barack Obama, but 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.”

Suozzi — a centrist Democrat who flipped a red seat during a special election last year — lamented that instead of concentrating on the details in Trump’s speech, Americans are talking about Green’s protest.

“Instead of focusing on protecting Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare, and instead of addressing rising costs, fixing immigration, and Ukraine, too many Americans are talking about a member of Congress being removed from the chamber,” Suozzi wrote on social platform X. “This is not helpful.”

“I’m serious about building bipartisan coalitions to tackle these pressing concerns. It’s the only way. Both parties must hold themselves to the same standards we expect from the other side,” he added. “I am angry about plenty that the President is doing and what he said the other night, but the punch, counterpunch is not working.”

On Wednesday night, Suozzi told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” that Green’s display was “wrong” and “boneheaded.”

Green has remained defiant in the wake of his rebuke. On Thursday, after the censure vote, he pointed to peaceful protests that had been conducted by former Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).

“With peaceful protest, you have to be prepared to suffer the consequences because you have to, as John Lewis said it, get in the way. You’ve got to be disruptive. So you get in the way,” he said.

“So I indicated that I was prepared to suffer the consequences for my actions,” he later added. “Today we were here for me to suffer the consequences. I’m not angry with the Speaker, I’m not angry with the officers, I hold no ill feelings. But I never said I agreed with what was happening.”

Green began his protest minutes into Trump’s speech Tuesday night, when the president claimed he had a “mandate” from the American people. At that point, Green stood up and argued that Trump did not have a mandate, specifically saying he did not have authority to cut Medicaid.

His comments come as some Republicans are eyeing slashes to the social safety net program as part of their sprawling border, energy and tax package.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged Green to stop his display, telling him to sit down. Green, however, continued his protest, prompting Johnson to order the sergeant-at-arms to escort him out of the chamber.

Emily Brooks contributed.