US House starts reprimand of Democrat Al Green for disrupting Trump speech

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By Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives kicked off a process on Wednesday that could lead lawmakers to censure Democrat Al Green, who was kicked out of the chamber after yelling at President Donald Trump during an address.

Representative Green, a Texas Democrat who has been in Congress for 20 years and has repeatedly called to impeach Trump, is facing a House censure resolution for yelling at the president, waiving his black cane and refusing to sit down during Trump’s Tuesday night speech.

Green’s message was drowned out by boos from Republicans, but he told reporters on Tuesday that he was saying Trump had no electoral mandate to slash funding for Medicaid, the government healthcare program that helps cover costs for people with limited income.

Green was eventually escorted out by chamber staff who maintain the decorum and security of the floor.

Representative Dan Newhouse, a moderate Republican from Washington, introduced the resolution to censure Green for a “breach of proper conduct.”

A vote by the full House chamber on the censure resolution is expected in coming days, and Green will be required to be on the floor at that time. Censure is a symbolic reprimand that carries no fines or other penalties.

The censure process was once a rarity, but four House lawmakers have been publicly reprimanded by their colleagues in the last four years for inappropriate social media posts, actions that a majority of the House found problematic, and disrupting a vote.

In 2009, Republican Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina faced a resolution of disapproval – a lesser form of punishment – after he shouted “You lie!” at Democratic President Barack Obama during an address to a joint session of Congress.

Wilson’s outburst at the time drew gasps from other lawmakers, but on Tuesday that type of behavior was happening almost every minute inside the chamber. Republicans cheered Trump’s speech and taunted Democrats, while other House Democratic lawmakers held signs to fact-check the president and repeatedly yelled from their seats in opposition.

Green’s outburst – and moves by some of his colleagues who walked out during the speech – marked a sharp contrast with Democratic leaders who had urged decorum and tapped a moderate senator from Michigan to deliver their rebuttal speech.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon unfurled a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag as Trump spoke about the country’s war with Russia.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Scott Malone and Nia Williams)