House CENSURES Jamaal Bowman for pulling the fire alarm during crucial votes
The House voted to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman for pulling the fire alarm during a vote to avert a government shutdown.
The vote was 214 to 191, with five members voting “present”.
Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., forced a vote on the resolution this week, making it a “privilege.”
Since the Sept. 30 incident, Republicans have been pushing for Bowman to be convicted and possibly even expelled.
It comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy suddenly introduced a stopgap spending bill in the House hours ahead of a deadline that could have triggered a shutdown.
The House voted to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman for pulling the fire alarm during a vote to avert a government shutdown.
It comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy suddenly introduced a stopgap spending bill in the House hours ahead of schedule, which could have triggered a shutdown.
The current CR resolution kept state funding at 2023 levels without the spending cuts that Conservatives have demanded. That ultimately led to McCarthy’s ouster when Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., filed a motion to be vacated.
Democrats demanded more time to read the bill, so Republicans say Bowman raised alarm bells.
The congressman was charged with the offense in October and pleaded guilty a day later. Under the agreement with prosecutors, Bowman must write an apology to Capitol Police and pay a $1,000 fine.
Bowman has repeatedly stated that he accidentally set off the alarm while intending to open the door.
“The main thing I’ve tried to do as a high school principal and educator for 20 years is teach my students, when they make a mistake, to admit it. They took charge and took responsibility. That’s what I did, and yet we’re still here.”
The censure resolution drew protest from Democrats.
“This conviction is just the latest in this chamber’s racist history of telling black men they had no place in Congress,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley. D-Mass.
But McClain accused the Democrats who thwarted the effort of hypocrisy.
“The Republican majority held our former member accountable,” McClain said, referring to last week’s vote to remove former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from office. “It would be hypocritical for House Democrats not to join us in holding accountable one of their members who has, in fact, pleaded guilty to breaking the law.”