On Friday, December 8, a Republican-led effort to censure U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman was approved by 214 members of Congress. Bowman joins Rashida Tlaib as the 27th member of Congress to be censured.
The act of censuring a U.S. Representative is an act that reportedly “registers the House’s deep disapproval of member misconduct that, nevertheless, does not meet the threshold for expulsion.” However, it does not result in the removal of a lawmaker from Congress or committees.
The effort to censure Bowman was put into motion in the fall when the New York-based lawmaker was accused of pulling the fire alarm on Capitol Hill as lawmakers were voting on a spending bill to avoid a potential government shutdown. Republicans, led by Representative Lisa McClain, accused him of intentionally attempting to delay the vote.
“It is reprehensible that a Member of Congress would go to such lengths to prevent House Republicans from bringing forth a vote to keep the government operating and Americans receiving their paychecks,” McClain said.
Bowman apologized for pulling the fire alarm, pay a $1,000 fine and serve three months of probation.
“I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door,” Bowman said after the initial incident.
“I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused.”
Bowman is the latest member of Congress to be censured. Previously, Bowman’s colleague, Rashida Tlaib, was also censured this year after a video appeared to show her shouting “from the river to the sea” at a protest in Michigan. Lawmakers also attempted to censure now former U.S. Representative George Santos after he was accused fraud and lying on his resume. The attempt to censure Santos failed, but he was ultimately removed from Congress.
