‘I Would Do It Again’: Democratic Congressman Says He Accepts Consequences of Heckling Trump During Speech

The House will vote on a censure resolution on Thursday of Congressman Al Green, a Texas Democrat, after the lawmaker heckled President Trump at his first national address to Congress. Mr. Green himself did not object to the censure resolution on Wednesday. Congressman Dan Newhouse, a Washington State Republican, introduced the censure resolution on Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after Mr. Green was ejected from the chamber by Speaker Johnson just minutes into the president’s speech. “The Representative from Texas disrupted the proceedings of the joint address” in “breach of proper conduct,” Mr. Newhouse’s resolution states. The Republican lawmaker noted on Wednesday that it has been “a long time” since a member was forcibly removed from the floor by the Sergeant-at-Arms. After Mr. Newhouse’s resolution was introduced, Democrats made a motion to “table,” or kill, the censure. Mr. Green himself voted “present” on the measure. Ultimately, the House voted against tabling by a margin of 211 to 209. The House then proceeded to debating the censure resolution. As members exited the floor, just a handful of lawmakers — including Messrs. Newhouse and Green — stayed on the House floor to discuss the measure. Mr. Green took to a podium on the floor to declare that he had no regrets about what he had done. Before he spoke, Mr. Green walked to the Republican side of the aisle and shook Mr. Newhouse’s hand.The Texas Democrat explained his rationale during his speech, saying that he was angry Mr. Trump declared he had a mandate from the American people.“You do not have a mandate to cut Medicaid,” Mr. Green said to the president in absentia on Wednesday. He further said that he would do it all over again. “It was not done out of a burst of emotion … I did it with intentionality,” Mr. Green said. “I would do it again.”“This is a matter of principle,” he said further. “On some questions, questions of conscience, you must be willing to suffer the consequences.”Fellow Democrats made a forceful defense of their colleague before he spoke to explain himself. “There was a violation of dignity and decorum of this chamber, and it came from the podium,” Congressman Jim McGovern said in defense of Mr. Green during debate. “It was 90 minutes of pure propaganda. It made me sick.”

‘I Would Do It Again’: Democratic Congressman Says He Accepts Consequences of Heckling Trump During Speech

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