New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman was officially censured in the House of Representatives for pulling a fire alarm during House proceedings in September.
The privileged resolution to censure Bowman was introduced on Tuesday by Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain, who said, "Nobody is above the law, Congressmen included."
The vote passed in the House with a total of 214-291 members voting in favor of censuring Bowman. Three Democrats joined the majority of Republicans approving the resolution while five others, including one Republican, voted "present." Twenty-three members did not vote.
Following the measure's approval, Bowman was seen on the House floor smiling and embracing fellow colleagues.
"We are a nation of laws, and when someone breaks those laws, they deserve to be held accountable," McClain wrote in an X post following her resolution's approval. "Today, the House censured Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who pulled a fire alarm to obstruct the work of Congress.
The Michigan representative reiterated her Tuesday remark, "Actions have consequences, and no one is above the law."
During Wednesday's debate on whether the House would move forward with McClain's resolution, the New York representative took aim at his political opponents while he delivered remarks in opposition to McClain's measure.
“Unfortunately, Republicans are here trying to rehash an already litigated matter, a matter in which the Republican-controlled House committee of ethics decided to not proceed with any further investigation,” Bowman said. “This is an insult to the people I was elected to represent.”
Bowman said Republicans were using the measure to waste government resources "instead of passing meaningful legislation for the American people.”
The New York representative also suggested abortion, voting rights, health care, social security, and Medicare were on the chopping block for House Republicans.
Shortly after Bowman pulled the fire alarm during a House vote in September, the New York representative issued an apology, though clarified he did not intend to interrupt proceedings. “Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open. I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door,” he said in the late-September apology. “I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused.” “But I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote,” Bowman continued, per The Daily Wire. “It was the exact opposite – I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open.”
Bowman is the 27th House member to be censured, following fellow Democratic representatives Adam Schiff of California and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan earlier this year.
