House Censures Rep. Jamaal Bowman Over Pulling Fire Alarm

The House voted Thursday to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman for pulling a fire alarm in September as Democrats — in that moment — were stalling for time to read details of a bill to avert a government shutdown.

The New York Democrat became the third U.S. representative to be censured this year in GOP-led efforts, following Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

214 Republicans and three Democrats voted in favor of the GOP censure resolution, while 191 Democrats voted no. Five lawmakers — including one Republican and four Democrats — voted "present" on the censure.

Republicans who moved to punish Bowman and Democrats who defended him sparred over the measure during floor debate Wednesday evening.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., yelled after a motion to table, or kill, the resolution failed. "What a petty thing it is to bring this garbage to the floor."

"There is nothing wrong with me," Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., sponsor of the resolution, shot back.

Democrats argued Bowman had already taken accountability and apologized for triggering the alarm, which he has maintained was a mistake, even as he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge over the incident.

Republicans said Bowman deserved to be punished and prosecuted the same way as those who participated in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the Capitol.

"If anyone is going to be charged and forced to remain in jail, forced to be serving prison time for obstructing an official proceeding, then Jamaal Bowman should face the exact same thing," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said Wednesday evening.

But Democrats, including Bowman himself, said pulling a fire alarm was not on par with the lethal violence and nearly $3 million worth of damage that occurred on Jan. 6 when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol.

"In no way did I obstruct official proceedings," Bowman said. "This is an insult to the people I was elected to represent."

Republicans, meanwhile, had insisted that Democrats should "hold one of their own accountable," pointing to the legislative body's bipartisan expulsion of former Rep. George Santos last week.

Rep. Liz McClain, R-Mich., who introduced the measure against Bowman, repeatedly alleged that Bowman intentionally pulled the alarm in an effort to prevent voting on the stopgap measure.

"If you break the law and you follow due process, there are consequences to your actions," McClain said.

Bowman agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in October after being charged over the incident, which was caught on video.

The New York representative drew considerable blowback from House Republicans immediately following the incident, with many calling for him to be expelled from the legislative body. Bowman has maintained that he did not pull the alarm in an attempt to stop voting on the stopgap measure.