House votes to censure Rep. Al Green after he was removed for disrupting Trump's Congressional address

The House on Thursday voted to censure Democratic Rep. Al Green after he was removed for disrupting President Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night.

It was a 224 to 198 vote, with 10 Democrats voting with Republicans in favor of the censure, making Green the 28th member of the House to ever receive one.

To "censure" a lawmaker is a formal punishment members of Congress can give to their colleagues for disorderly behavior. While it does not typically carry consequences beyond the member having to hear a description of their disorderly behavior being read aloud in the House, it is considered a mark on Green's record as a lawmaker.

Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse from Washington introduced a resolution to censure Green on Wednesday morning over the outburst during Trump's speech, reportedly beating out three alternative censure measures being composed by Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, Texas Rep. Troy Nehls and the House Freedom Caucus.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson instructed the House sergeant at arms to eject Green after he stood up and interjected as Trump spoke to lawmakers.

Green stood and shouted, “You have no mandate!” Republicans, sitting on the other side of the room, drowned Green’s protests out, chanting “USA! USA!”

Johnson asked the room to sit down and stay quiet, but Green refused. Johnson then instructed the sergeant at arms to remove Green from the room for interrupting the speech and, as Green exited, Republicans stood up again and cheered, shouting, “Get out!”

“You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” Green shouted at Trump before he was escorted out of the chamber.

Johnson later told reporters that Green "should be censured" for interrupting Trump's address to Congress.

Some House Democrats also disapproved of Green's disruption. New York Rep. George Latimer told Axios he thought it was "inappropriate."

“When a president — my president, your president — is speaking, we don’t interrupt, we don’t pull those stunts,” he said.

Rep. Tom Suozzi also told Axios that he thought Green's behavior was a "big mistake."

“I’m an old school traditional type guy, I think we should be treating the president with deference,” Suozzi said. “So I think it was inappropriate.”

Green, 77, is a representative from Texas’s Ninth Congressional District and has served in Congress since 2005. He has helped lead impeachment efforts against Trump since 2017 and was one of the first members of Congress to propose articles of impeachment against Trump during his first administration, specifically in connection to Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

In late January, Green announced to the House his plans to introduce new articles of impeachment against Trump over the war in Gaza.

"The movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring Articles of Impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done," Green said. "Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world.”

Before Congress, Green was a civil rights attorney and the president of the Houston NAACP for nearly a decade.

Green wasn’t the only Democratic lawmaker who shouted out during Trump’s speech. Many others interjected “Not true!” or “Those are lies!” at the president. California Rep. Gil Cisneros reportedly shouted, “Talk about the $400 million to Tesla!” as multiple representatives held up protest signs that said “Musk steals.”

Several Democrats exited the chamber throughout Trump’s speech, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Veronica Escobar, Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin. Some of the Democrats leaving were protesting Trump’s commentary, reportedly wearing shirts with “resist” printed on the back.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman posted on X Wednesday that he disagreed with Green's behavior and the Democrats walking out of Trump's speech.

"A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained," Fetterman wrote. "We're becoming the metamorphical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message."

There was one moment during Trump’s speech that drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans: Trump’s acknowledgment of the United States' financial aid for Ukraine.