A House Republican said Thursday he will force votes on kicking dozens of Democratic colleagues off of their committees for chanting and singing on the House floor over the objections of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Why it matters: The incident came in response to Republicans and nearly a dozen Democrats voting to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) for disrupting President Trump’s speech to Congress.
- As Johnson read out the resolution censuring Green, dozens of House Democrats, primarily Black Caucus members and progressives, stood in the well of the House singing “We Shall Overcome“.
- Johnson repeatedly banged the gavel and said “the House will come to order,” before putting the House in recess until the disruption subsided.
What they’re saying: “Today, a group of House Democrats broke decorum during the censure of Rep. Al Green and, after multiple warnings, refused to heed [Johnson’s] order,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) said in a post on X.
- Ogles said he is drafting privileged resolutions — which any member can force to a vote with or without support from leadership — to “remove each of them from their committees.”
- “If you want to act like a child in the Halls of Congress, you will be treated like a child,” Ogles said.
