During President Donald Trump’s Joint Address to Congress on Tuesday night, Republicans mindlessly clapped and cheered as Trump attacked immigrants, bashed transgender kids who want to play sports, and disregarded facts and reality, in general. Meanwhile, Democrats did nearly nothing. Except for one.
At the beginning of Trump’s speech, Rep. Al Green of Texas stood up and yelled, “He has no mandate to cut Medicaid,” as Trump bragged about winning the election. Speaker Mike Johnson told him to stop, then quickly ordered his removal. Not a single Democrat followed him out. Instead, they sat in their pink ensembles, sometimes yelled something inaudible, and held up little signs that said things like, “FALSE” and “SAVE MEDICARE.” People lying in hospital beds, texting their group chats that Trump’s speech was insane, did more to push back against this administration than Democrats did.
On Thursday, the House voted 224-198 to censure Green for “breach of proper conduct.” (Green himself voted “present.”) Friendly reminder that during former President Joe Biden’s State of the Union in 2022, Rep. Laura Boebert (R-Colo.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) booed and heckled Biden throughout, and neither were removed or censured. Taylor Greene also heckled Biden during his 2024 SOTU address—clad in MAGA gear—and, again, was not removed or censured.
Ten Democrats joined Republicans on Thursday in making Green the 28th House member to be censured. Here are their names!
U.S. Representatives:
Bera, Ami (Calif.-6)
Case, Ed (Hawaii-1)
Costa, Jim (Calif.-21)
Gillen, Laura (N.Y.-4)
Himes, Jim (Conn.-4)
Houlahan, Chrissy (Pa.-6)
Kaptur, Marcy (Ohio-9)
Moskowitz, Jared (Fla.-23)
Gluesenkamp Perez, Marie (Wash.-3)
Suozzi, Tom (N.Y.-3)
“I heard the speaker when he said that I should cease. I did not, and I did not with intentionality, it was not done out of a burst of emotion,” Green said in a speech before the House vote. Other Democrats joined him in the well of the House and they all started singing, “We Shall Overcome” as Johnson tried to finish reading the official censure. Which…no comment.
“You’re next,” one Democrat exclaimed. At one point, Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) told Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), “Al was wrong,” prompting her to respond, “Your members do the same thing.”
Al was literally the only correct person in the chamber Tuesday night.
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