Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) introduced legislation to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) after the congressman protested the GOP’s planned cuts to Medicaid during Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday.
Early in Trump’s speech, Green stood and shouted, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!”
After several warnings, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove him from the chamber.
Newhouse’s resolution on Wednesday is seeking to censure Green for “disrupt[ing] the proceedings of the joint address and was a breach of proper conduct.”
“Whereas, after numerous disruptions the representative from Texas had to be removed from the chamber by the Sergeant-at-arms; Now, therefore, be it resolved that Representative Al Green be censured,” the resolution added.
Newhouse, one of two House Republicans still in Congress after voting to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, claimed the move is not to curry favor with Trump, according to The Hill.
“I don’t see how that would work at all,” Newhouse said. “This is about the House of Representatives, Congress and respecting the rules of decorum that we have.”
Yet, Newhouse did not introduce resolution to censure Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) in 2022 after she yelled at President Joe Biden during the State of the Union as he honored service members who died as a result of their exposure to toxic burn pits.
Newhouse also did not introduced a censure resolution in 2023 when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) shouted “Liar!” during Biden’s State of the Union that year and when she joined Boebert to chant “Build the Wall.”
No actions were taken against the Republican lawmakers.
Green is unfazed by any potential punishment.
“It’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 told reporters after he was ejected Tuesday night.
“If I broke the rules, then I have to be prepared to suffer the consequences. You don’t break the rules and then demand that you be treated as though nothing ever happened,” Green told Axios on Wednesday. “I did it because Medicaid is so important to my constituents,” he added, “let them bring their sanctions. Bring them on.”
