In an embarrassing spectacle, a group of House Democrats protested the censure of Rep. Al Green (D-TX) by singing the gospel song “We Shall Overcome” on the House floor, with Rep. Green himself leading the group and causing House Speaker Mike Johnson to call the House into recess to clear the floor.
For context, on March 6, 2025, House Republicans — along with a reported 10 House Democrats — moved to censure Rep. Al Green after he disrupted an address to Congress by President Donald Trump. Rep. Green was censured following a 224-198 vote, leading the Texas representative and several other House Democrats to break into song.
According to coverage from NBC News, Rep. Green interrupted President Trump’s joint address to Congress on March 5, 2025, leading House Speaker Mike Johnson to admonish Rep. Green to calm down, saying, “Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions.”
After Rep. Green refused to calm down and stop interrupting President Trump, Speaker Johnson called for the representative to be removed from the chamber, leading House Republicans to reportedly chant, “Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye” as the House sergeant at arms escorted Rep. Green out.
Following the incident, Rep. Green staunchly defended his actions to the press, saying that he was a “person of conscience” and arguing that President Trump “has done things that I think we cannot allow to continue.” Doubling down on the issue of Medicaid funding, Rep. Green added, “This whole budget that he has is one that is going to cause Medicaid to be cut, and when he said he had a mandate, it triggered something. It really did. Because he doesn’t have a mandate, and he doesn’t have a mandate to cut health care from poor people,”
Following his removal from the House chamber, Rep. Green’s censure was reportedly voted for by 10 House Democrats, including Ami Bera of California, Ed Case of Hawaii, Jim Himes of Connecticut, and several others. Speaking to CNN, Rep. Himes said, “I don’t mind being one of 10 Democrats who said, no, there’s a deeper principle at stake here, which is reverence for this institution.” The representative added that he believed that Rep. Green needed to act “with the decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country.”
In addition, a Democratic lawmaker who chose to be anonymous told CNN that “people are pissed” in response to Rep. Green’s antics, adding, “A lot of people are like, why aren’t we on the same team?” However, Rep. Green reportedly did not hold a grudge against his fellow representatives and expressed that he had “no reason in my heart to be upset” following the censure vote.
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When a video of the House Democrats breaking out into song was shared on X by Collin Rugg, he mocked the Dems, saying, “They really are all theater kids.” Another commenter chimed in, saying, “They are not helping their cause at all. While we must put the pedal to the floor in 2026 and 2028, if they keep acting like this, they won’t hold power again for decades.”
Watch the Dems sing in protest of Al Green’s censure:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video