House Democrats Sing as Rep. Al Green Is Censured for Disrupting Trump's Speech to Congress

Mar. 15, 2025

A group of Democrats joined Texas Rep. Al Green in singing “We Shall Overcome” after he was censured on Thursday, March 6, forinterrupting President Donald Trump’s speechto Congress earlier in the week.

The House voted to censure Green, 77, in a 244-198 split, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans in voting in favor of the motion. Two members of Congress, one of whom was Green, voted present.

Texas Rep. Al Green is removed from the House chamber during a joint session of Congress on March 4.WIN MCNAMEE/AFP via Getty

WIN MCNAMEE/AFP via Getty

After the vote concluded and the motion was passed, Green was asked to stand in the center of the room whileSpeaker Mike Johnson, R-La. read the censure to him. A number of other Democrats joined him at the front of the House chamber, singing “We Shall Overcome,” as Johnson, 53, banged his gavel and Republicans shouted at the group.

When Johnson failed to bring the House to order he called a recess instead.

Representative Al Green on March 4.Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Prior to the censure vote, the House speaker told reporters, perThe Hill, “We take no pleasure in this. I gave repeated warnings to Rep. Green [during Trump’s speech] to stand down and to sit down and he refused to do it, he chose to deliberately violate House rules in a manner that we think is probably unprecedented in history, interrupting the message of a president of the United States, who is an honored guest.”

Johnson added, “I think this expeditious vote of censure is an appropriate remedy. Many of our colleagues have argued it should go even further. But I hope that he will acknowledge his mistake.”

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On Tuesday night, Green protestedTrump’s proposed cuts to Medicaidafter the president said in his speech that the American people had given him a “mandate.”

Green stood and shook his cane toward Trump as he said the President had “no mandate to cut Medicaid … no mandate.”

“I want him to know that his budget calls for deep cuts in Medicaid,” Green continued. “He needs to save Medicaid and protect it. We need to raise the cap on Social Security.”

At the time, he also said he would accept his punishment for speaking out: “I didn’t say to anyone, ‘Don’t punish me.’ I said, ‘I’ll accept the punishment.’ "

Al Green on March 4.WIN MCNAMEE/AFP via Getty

What does it mean to censure a congressman?

A censure does not remove a member from Congress, nor does it carry any actionable consequences, such as a removal of rights or privileges. Instead, theHouse of Representatives websitedefines a censure as an acknowledgement of its “deep disapproval of Member misconduct that, nevertheless, does not meet the threshold for expulsion.”

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Republicans are no strangers to being censured either. In 2021, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar was reprimanded forposting a violent anime videofeaturing Democratic Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezof New York and then-PresidentJoe Biden.

source: people.com