US House starts reprimand of Democrat Al Green for disrupting Trump speech

WASHINGTON – The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives kicked off a process on March 5 that could lead lawmakers to censure Democrat Al Green, who was kicked out of the chamber after yelling at President Donald Trump during an address.

Representative Green, a Texas Democrat who has been in Congress for 20 years and has repeatedly called to impeach Mr Trump, is facing a House censure resolution for yelling at the US President, waving his black cane and refusing to sit down during Mr Trump’s speech on the night of March 4.

Mr Green’s message was drowned out by boos from Republicans, but he told reporters on March 4 that he was saying Mr Trump had no electoral mandate to slash funding for Medicaid, the government healthcare programme that helps cover costs for people with limited income.

Mr Green was eventually escorted out by chamber staff who maintained the decorum and security of the floor.

Representative Dan Newhouse, a moderate Republican from Washington, introduced the resolution to censure Mr Green for a “breach of proper conduct”.

A vote by the full House chamber on the censure resolution is expected in coming days, and Mr Green will be required to be on the floor at that time. Censure is a symbolic reprimand that carries no fines or other penalties.

The censure process was once a rarity, but four House lawmakers have been publicly reprimanded by their colleagues in the last four years for inappropriate social media posts, actions that a majority of the House found problematic, and disrupting a vote.

In 2009, Republican Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina faced a resolution of disapproval – a lesser form of punishment – after he shouted, “You lie!” at then Democratic US president Barack Obama during an address to a joint session of Congress.

Mr Wilson’s outburst at the time drew gasps from other lawmakers, but on March 4 that type of behaviour was happening almost every minute inside the chamber. Republicans cheered Mr Trump’s speech and taunted Democrats, while other House Democratic lawmakers held signs to fact-check the president and repeatedly yelled from their seats in opposition.

Mr Green’s outburst – and moves by some of his colleagues who walked out during the speech – marked a sharp contrast with Democratic leaders who had urged decorum and tapped a moderate senator from Michigan to deliver their rebuttal speech.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon unfurled a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag as Mr Trump spoke about the country’s war with Russia. REUTERS