Texas Rep. Green deluged with GOP censure motions after protest at Trump speech

WASHINGTON (CN) — Congressional Republicans on Wednesday sought to exact their revenge on a Texas Democrat who nearly derailed President Donald Trump’s joint address to lawmakers, unveiling a resolution that would formally rebuke his conduct.

Texas Representative Al Green was forcibly removed from the House chamber Tuesday night as Trump began his remarks to Congress. Standing up near the beginning of the president’s speech, Green, 77, gestured with his trademark walking cane and yelled at Trump that he had “no mandate” to cut Medicaid — an apparent reference to proposed GOP spending cuts that Democrats say would require slashing federal medical assistance.

Green’s outburst elicited furious jeers from Republicans gathered in the chamber, who demanded that the House sergeant-at-arms remove him for violating congressional rules of decorum.

Despite a warning from House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Texas Democrat would not relent and was eventually escorted out as GOP lawmakers cheered.

House Republicans escalated things further on Wednesday morning, announcing their intention to file a censure resolution against Green. Censure is a form of public humiliation used against lawmakers which requires the offending member to stand in the well of the House chamber and listen to a public retelling of their misconduct.

The House Freedom Caucus, the lower chamber’s conservative voting bloc, said that its members would introduce such a resolution against Green on Wednesday.

And fellow Texas Representative Troy Nehls, who is not part of the Freedom Caucus, announced separately that he would unveil his own measure censuring the Democratic lawmaker, writing on X that the resolution would seek to punish Green for “disruptive and disorderly conduct.”

Washington Representative Dan Newhouse also plans to introduce a censure resolution against Green, according to a copy of the measure first published by Punchbowl News. Newhouse’s measure contends that the Texas Democrat “repeatedly violated the rules of decorum” during Trump’s Tuesday address.

Speaking to reporters after his removal from the House chamber Tuesday night, Green said he would “accept” his ejection.

“[I]t’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security,” he added.

Green has earned a reputation in recent years as a staunch opponent of the president. The lawmaker last month announced that he would file articles of impeachment against Trump over his “dastardly” proposal that the U.S. would take over the Gaza Strip and resettle millions of Palestinians displaced as a result of Israel’s military campaign there.

“Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States,” Green said on the House floor at the time.

Democratic leadership, however, was less than enthusiastic about his effort.

The Texas congressman repeatedly tried to impeach Trump during his first term in office. And while he was never successful, Democrats impeached the former president twice during his first administration — though he was never convicted by the Senate.

House Republicans in 2023 censured three Democratic lawmakers, including former New York Representative Jamaal Bowman, who was punished by the chamber for a September 2023 incident in which he pulled a fire alarm in a Capitol office building as lawmakers voted on a government spending bill.

The lower chamber also voted in 2023 to censure Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib over statements she made in support of Palestinian resistance to Israel. And then-Representative Adam Schiff, now California’s junior senator, faced censure earlier in the year for his role in the Trump-Russia investigation.

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