Democrat on vote to censure Al Green: ‘This is not unprecedented’

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.), while defending her vote to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Thursday, urged her fellow Democrats to hold themselves to a higher standard.

Pointing to Congress’s low approval ratings, Gillen argued the decision was “not unprecedented.”

“There is a certain level of decorum and civility that should be adhered to on the floor. If Democrats want Republicans to adhere to those standards, then we have to make sure our own colleagues adhere to the same standards,” Gillen said Thursday on NewsNation’s “The Hill.” 

“This is not unprecedented,” Gillen told host Blake Burman, referencing a similar resolution that Democrats supported in 2009 after Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) screamed “you lie” during former President Obama’s joint address to Congress. That item expressed disapproval of Wilson’s outburst but stopped short of a censure.

The New York lawmaker was one of 10 Democrats who voted to censure Green’s outburst during President Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday night.

Green protested early in the speech when Trump was boasting about his 2024 presidential election victory and how it was a “mandate” from the American people. The Texas Democrat pushed back on the notion, saying he did not have a mandate to cut social programs such as Medicaid.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) warned those in attendance to maintain decorum and later directed the sergeant-at-arms to “restore order.” That led to Green, who is serving in his 11th term, being removed from the chamber.

On Wednesday, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) introduced a resolution that would censure Green for his protest. The House adopted the resolution with a 224-198-2 vote, making Green the 28th member of the lower chamber to be rebuked in history.

“And I think that we should hold ourselves to the same standard and look, the American people have indicated that their approval rating of Congress has never been lower,” Gillen said Thursday. 

The New York Democrat noted that constituents want to see “us working together and actually getting things done to improve their lives.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do every day on [Capitol] Hill, and when we have stunts like this, it doesn’t instill any faith that Congress is actually doing that,” she added.

Apart from Gillen, the nine other Democrats who voted to censure Green were Reps. Ami Bera (Calif.), Ed Case (Hawaii), Jim Costa (Calif.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Jim Himes (Conn.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Jared Moskowitz (Fla.) and Tom Suozzi (N.Y.).

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