House Censures Al Green for Heckling Trump During Speech to Congress

• March 6, 2025, 11:35 a.m. ET

The House on Thursday officially rebuked Representative Al Green of Texas, the Democrat who Republicans ejected from the chamber on Tuesday night for standing and heckling President Trump during his address to a joint session of Congress.

A resolution of censure passed 224 to 198, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans in support of the punishment. Mr. Green and Representative Shomari Figures, a first-term Democrat from Alabama, both voted “present.”

But when Mr. Green stepped into the well of the House to receive his official scolding, the floor devolved once again into a scene of chaos. The Texas Democrat led a crowd of his colleagues in singing the gospel anthem “We Shall Overcome” as Speaker Mike Johnson raised his voice and finished reading out the censure.

Mr. Johnson was forced to call a brief recess as Republicans and Democrats lingered on the floor, shouting at each other. It was another dramatic moment after Mr. Green’s outburst on Tuesday night, reflecting a determination among some Democrats to aggressively resist Mr. Trump, even as others in the party urge a more staid and sober strategy for pushing back.

The Democrats who voted to censure Mr. Green were: Representatives 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.

A censure is one of the highest forms of reprimand in the House. The resolution is a formal and public condemnation or disapproval of a member’s individual behavior. But in recent years, the bar for such moves has lowered considerably, as Democrats and Republicans alike have used it to settle political scores.

The last member to be censured by the House was former Representative Jamaal Bowman, Democrat of New York, who received the rebuke in 2023 after he pulled a fire alarm in a Capitol office building during a critical vote, leading Republicans to accuse him of deliberately trying to stall business on the floor.

Mr. Green told reporters on Wednesday that he would accept the consequences for his actions on Tuesday night and that he harbored no ill will toward the speaker or anyone else.

“I didn’t do it to get anybody else to join me,” he said. “I believe that on some issues, it’s better to stand alone than not stand at all.”

Mr. Green added that his act of protest was “a matter of conscience” because he believed Mr. Trump did not adequately address the issue of protecting Medicaid, a program that he said many of his constituents rely on.

“I would do it again,” he said. “I’m not saying I’m going to now contrive and try to find a way to do it again.”

Annie Karni and Robert Jimison contributed reporting.