Texas Rep. Al Green unrepentant as he faces censure vote in House for
disrupting Trump speech
[March 06, 2025]
By KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is expected to vote on censuring an
unrepentant Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, on Thursday for his outburst during
President Donald Trump's address to Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had Green removed from the chamber
during the early moments of Trump’s speech Tuesday night. The Houston
lawmaker stood and shouted at Trump after the president said the Nov. 5
election had delivered a mandate not seen for many decades.
“You have no mandate,” Green said, refusing an order from Johnson to
“take your seat, sir!”
Republicans moved swiftly to rebuke Green with a censure resolution that
officially registers the House's deep disapproval of a member’s conduct.
Once it’s approved by majority vote, the member is asked to stand in the
well of the House while the speaker or presiding officer reads the
resolution.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and the resolution's sponsor, called it a
“necessary, but difficult step.”
“This resolution is offered in all seriousness, something that I believe
we must do in order to get us to the next level of conduct in this
hallowed chamber,” Newhouse said.
The censure resolution is just the latest example of the boisterous
behavior that has occurred during presidential addresses to Congress.
It's certainly happened on bothsides of the political aisle.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., noted that Republicans were silent when
members of their conference interrupted President Joe Biden's speech
last year.
Some yelled “say her name” in reference to nursing student Laken Riley,
as Biden spoke about immigration legislation some lawmakers were working
on. Riley was killed while running on the University of Georgia campus
by a Venezuelan citizen who illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and had
been allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.
“Where were my Republican friends? Nobody apologized for interrupting
Joe Biden time and again,” McGovern said. “You talk about lack of
decorum. Go back and look at the tapes, and there was silence from the
other side.”
The censure resolution states that Green's actions were a “breach of
proper conduct” during a joint address and noted his removal “after
numerous disruptions.” Democrats tried to table it Wednesday, but that
effort failed on a party-line vote.
Green, now serving his 11th term, offered no regrets when he explained
his actions on the House floor Wednesday. Before speaking in his own
defense, he walked up to the Republican side of the chamber and shook
Newhouse's hand. He said he didn't blame Johnson or those who escorted
him out.
“Friends, I would do it again,” Green said.
He explained his actions by saying Trump had indicated he had a mandate.
But Green said Trump doesn’t have a mandate to cut Medicaid, a program
that many of his constituents rely on.
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Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, is removed from the chamber as President
Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in
Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)
“This is a matter of principle. This is a matter of conscience,”
Green said. “There are people suffering in this country because they
don’t have health care.”
He concluded his remarks by saying, “on some issues that are matters
of conscience, it is better to stand alone than not stand at all.”
Some Democratic lawmakers skipped Trump's address. Others walked out
during it. With tensions clearly on the rise, House Democratic
leader Hakeem Jeffries had told colleagues “it is important to have
a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the
chamber.”
Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., said it was a hard speech to sit
through and that she imagined it would be particularly difficult for
Green, noting he had lived through the Civil Rights movement and was
now seeing a backlash from Republicans on diversity and equity
efforts.
“I think Al Green was telling the truth. He does not have the
mandate to cut Medicaid,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif. Takano was
among the dozens of Democrats who held up signs reading “False” and
other protest slogans throughout Trump’s speech.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said that Democrats like Green “need to go
get some medical help” over the “level of derangement” the
opposition party displayed during the speech.
“I think my Democratic colleagues really embarrassed themselves
tonight, and their leadership should be even more ashamed of
themselves. They sat there and allowed it to happen and didn’t say a
word,” said Lawler.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who served as speaker during Trump's
first term, recalled her own memorable moment during a Trump address
when she ripped his speech up after he handed it to her following
his address.
"Everybody has to make their expression of how they see things. I
think we should keep our focus on the president’s speech,” Pelosi
said.
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Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Lisa Mascaro and Leah Askarinam
contributed to this report.
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