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House GOP moves swiftly to punish Rep. Al Green for disrupting Trump speech

Rep. Al Green shouts out as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Rep. Al Green shouts out as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images

CNN — House Republicans are moving quickly to punish the Texas Democrat who was removed from the House chamber for repeatedly disrupting President Donald Trump’s speech.

GOP Rep. Daniel Newhouse on Wednesday formally introduced a censure resolution against Rep. Al Green, who was removed by the House sergeant at arms after standing up and shouting during the opening minutes of Trump’s speech to Congress. Speaking on the House floor, Newhouse, a Washington state Republican, said he was seeking punishment against Green — a formal condemnation once considered rare in the House chamber — for his “numerous interruptions” of the president’s speech.

The House is expected to hold the vote to censure Green on Thursday, according to a GOP aide.

“This was beyond the pale. It went on and on, disrupting the entire evening so I felt it had to be responded to,” Newhouse said of Green’s interruption. “We have to uphold the expectations of decorum here, or else, what are we? We have nothing other than just a club that everybody comes and yells at each other.”

House Democrats failed to block an effort to kill the proposed censure on Wednesday, paving the way for the vote to go forward.

It’s a big moment for Newhouse, a GOP centrist who previously drew the ire of some in his party for voting to impeach Trump in 2021 and has done little to draw attention to himself since surviving a competitive election against a fellow Republican last cycle.

But the maneuver from Newhouse — which appears to be blessed by House GOP leaders — angered some conservatives in the House, who had been in talks with legislative counsel about their own resolution, according to multiple people ​who were involved in drafting the competing resolution. They privately argued that Newhouse was simply trying to avoid a challenge from his right. Outside of the Capitol, multiple Republican campaign operatives are taking Newhouse’s move as a sign he will not retire this cycle – as some had privately wondered – after he fended off a GOP challenger last cycle by six points.

Newhouse, though, denied he was trying to bolster his standing among Trump supporters.

“This is about the House of Representatives, Congress and respecting the rules of decorum that we have. You know, it could be any president, any member. This is bigger than any particular relationship,” Newhouse told reporters.

House officials expect the measure to be privileged, which would give it special procedural powers that require it to receive a floor vote within two legislative days. Republicans expect the vote to come up later Wednesday but it has not yet been decided, according to people familiar with the plans.

Green said Wednesday he was not angry with the speaker, officer of the House or members bringing the resolution, telling reporters: “I will suffer the consequences.”

“But I must add this: What I did was from my heart. People are suffering. And I was talking about Medicaid. I didn’t just say you don’t have a mandate. I said you don’t have a mandate to cut Medicaid,” he said.

House Minority Leader Jeffries told CNN earlier Wednesday that the “overwhelming majority” of Democrats approached the speech with seriousness. When asked about Republicans wanting to censure Green and whether that’s appropriate, Jeffries said only: “I haven’t had that conversation with anyone.“

Democrats do not plan to whip members against the censure resolution, allowing lawmakers to vote how they want, according to a person familiar with the matter.

For some centrist Democrats, the censure vote puts them in the uncomfortable spot of defending a fellow member’s outbursts during the president’s speech. Green wasn’t the only one who staged a protest: Several other progressive Democrats walked out, shouted back at the president from their seats, and held up signs, despite guidance from party leadership to remain restrained in their response to keep the focus on Trump and his agenda.

The House Freedom Caucus announced on X earlier in the day that they were drafting a resolution, as another member, Rep. Troy Nehls, worked to offer a competing resolution. (Nehls has his own beef with the Freedom Caucus, who left the group during a spat last year.)

The ultraconservative group had publicly warned Democrats that they would file censure resolutions against any members who disrupted the speech.

“Our colleagues are on notice that the heckler’s veto will not be tolerated,” they wrote.

Newhouse acknowledged that there were “many” Republicans interested in putting their name on the resolution. As for his role, he said: “I was the first to approach the speaker about this issue. So, here I am.”

This story has been updated with additional details. 

CNN’s Aileen Graef and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.

Author: Sarah Ferris and Annie Grayer, CNN

Source: CNN:::

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