WASHINGTON ― Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is ready to be reprimanded by his House colleagues for disrupting President Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday.
A Republican introduced a formal censure resolution against Green on Wednesday stating Green’s behavior “disrupted the proceedings of the joint address and was a breach of proper conduct.”
Told of the resolution by HuffPost, Green said, “My response is: guilty.”
Censure has no practical effect beyond being an admonishment from colleagues that goes in the congressional record. It’s not clear how soon the House could vote on the resolution, which would likely be adopted with unanimous Republican support.
During Trump’s speech, Green rose from his seat and shouted at Trump that he had no mandate from voters to cut Medicaid, the health care program for low income Americans.
Green, 77, waved his cane at the president and wouldn’t sit down even as Republicans drowned him out with noise, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) threatened to have him hauled out by the House sergeant-at-arms.
“You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” Green yelled. After a couple minutes, the sergeant-at-arms, the House’s top security office, escorted Green from the chamber.
Johnson said shortly after the speech he expected the House to censure Green, who made a far bigger spectacle of himself than his Democratic colleagues who held signs and walked during the president’s remarks.
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“If they’re going to use a 77-year-old heckling congressman as the face of their resistance, then bring it on. But we’re not going to tolerate that on the House floor,” Johnson said on Fox News.
Green said he thought Trump should have addressed the looming threat to Medicaid from the House Republican budget plan, which the president didn’t mention in his speech. Green said he would accept his punishment and appreciated Johnson giving him a warning before ordering the sergeant-at-arms to remove him.
“The speaker was more than kind. He gave me every opportunity to take my seat and remain within the chamber. The people that escorted me out, the officers were very kind and said kind things to me as they took me away,” Green said. “But I also say this: I’m not angry with any of them, but I would do it again.”