Jamaal Bowman censured for Capitol Hill alarm incident
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman. Photo: Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images.
The House on Thursday voted to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for pulling a Capitol Hill fire alarm in September.
Why it matters: It's the second time in a month the Republican-controlled House has taken the rare symbolic step of censuring a member. Both were Democrats.
- Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was censured last month for her criticism of Israel and her defense of a controversial pro-Palestinian chant, which 22 Democrats voted for.
Driving the news: The House voted 214-191 to pass the resolution. Five members voted "present."
- Three Democrats voted with Republicans to censure Bowman: Reps. Jahana Hayes (Conn.), Chris Pappas (N.H.) and Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (Wash.).
Details: The resolution, introduced by GOP Conference Secretary Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), condemns Bowman for pulling a fire alarm ahead of a pivotal vote on legislation to keep the government funded in September.
- "Representative Bowman forced the evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building and disrupted the work of the Congress as a vote was underway on the floor of the House," it says.
- Bowman has pleaded guilty to one local criminal charge of causing a false alarm for the incident and said he was simply trying to open an emergency door to make his way to House votes.
What they're saying: Pappas told Axios in a statement that he voted for an earlier motion to table the censure measure "because we have far more pressing issues to tackle for the country."
- But "at the end of the day, Representative Bowman broke the law," Pappas said.
- "The resolution was a straightforward condemnation of his actions, and I voted yes," he added.
The other side: Shouts of "shame" rang out from the Democratic side as the vote ended, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) yelling: "You've got to fund the government."
- "All they do is vacate the chair, expulsions, censures, reprimands, impeachments," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). "There is no positive agenda for America."
The big picture: The House has taken multiple censure, expulsion and impeachment votes this year as lawmakers in both parties have taken advantage of their ability to force such votes without leadership support.
- Just in the last few weeks the House voted to expel former Rep. George Santos and censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), while killing an effort to impeachment Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with quotes from Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Raskin and Pappas.
