Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.), while defending her vote to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Thursday, urged her fellow Democrats to hold themselves to a higher standard.
Pointing to Congress’s low approval ratings, Gillen argued that the decision was “not unprecedented.”
“There is a certain level of decorum and civility that should be adhered to on the floor. If Democrats want Republicans to adhere to those standards, then we have to make sure our own colleagues adhere to the same standards,” Gillen said Thursday on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”
“This is not unprecedented,” Gillen told host Blake Burman, referencing a similar resolution that Democrats supported in 2009 to censure Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) after he screamed “you lie” during former President Obama’s joint address to Congress.
The New York lawmaker was one of 10 Democrats who voted against Green’s outburst during President Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday night.
Green protested early on in the speech when Trump was boasting about his 2024 presidential election victory and how it was a “mandate” from the American people. The Texas Democrat pushed back on the notion, invoking cuts to social programs like Medicaid.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) warned those in attendance to maintain decorum and later directed the sergeant-at-arms to “restore order.” That led to Green, who is serving in his 11th term, to be removed from the chamber.
On Wednesday, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) introduced a resolution that would censure Green for his protest. The House adopted the resolution with a 224-198-2 vote, making Green the 28th member of the lower chamber to be rebuked in history.
“And I think that we should hold ourselves to the same standard and look, the American people have indicated that their approval rating of Congress has never been lower,” Gillen said on Thursday.
The New York Democrat noted that their constituents want to see “us working together and actually getting things done to improve their lives.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do every day on the Hill, and when we have stunts like this, it doesn’t instill any faith that Congress is actually doing that,” she added.
Apart from Gillen, the nine other Democrats who voted to censure Green were Reps. Ami Bera (Calif.), Ed Case (Hawaii), Jim Costa (Calif.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Jim Himes (Conn.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Jared Moskowitz (Fla.) and Tom Suozzi (N.Y.).
Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.) and Green, himself, voted “present.”
