A new effort is underway among House Republicans to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) after he was removed from President Donald Trump’s primetime address for the second consecutive year.
Green was ejected from Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night just minutes after the president entered the House chamber. As Trump approached the podium, Green stood holding a sign that read, in all capital letters, “Black people are not apes.” He remained standing with the sign visible as the president began speaking, prompting intervention by the Sergeant at Arms.
Rep. Mike Rulli (R-Ohio) told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that he is seeking support for a formal censure resolution against Green.
“His shenanigans at the State of the Union were uncalled for,” Rulli said. “We can’t really put up with that kind of conduct in Congress. Something had to be done.”
Rulli added, “I’m looking for as many co-sponsors from our conference as possible. And I’m reaching across the aisle for anyone over there that was embarrassed by their own guy.”
According to the text of Rulli’s resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, Green’s actions constituted a “breach of conduct.” The resolution further notes that it “was the second time in less than a year that the Representative from Texas had to be removed from the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms due to unpatriotic disruptions that violated numerous House rules related to decorum.”
This is not the first time Green has faced formal rebuke from the House. In March 2025, the House of Representatives voted to censure him after he disrupted a previous presidential address by waving his cane and shouting over Trump as the president attempted to deliver his remarks. Ten Democrats joined Republicans in passing that resolution.
Green has long been one of Trump’s most vocal critics in Congress. During Trump’s first term, Green repeatedly introduced articles of impeachment against the president, beginning as early as 2017. His efforts, which cited allegations ranging from obstruction of justice to rhetoric he characterized as discriminatory or inflammatory, were unsuccessful and did not advance out of the House. While Democrats later pursued separate impeachment proceedings that led to two Senate trials, Green’s early impeachment resolutions did not gain sufficient support within his own party to move forward.
Following his removal Tuesday night, Green defended his actions.
“I refuse to tolerate this level of hate that the president is in fact putting into policy. We must take a stand against this level of invidious discrimination,” Green told reporters.
“I wanted him to know, and I wanted them to see it and hear it. Up close. But judging from the expression on his face, he got the message. He saw it,” Green said.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stopped short of committing to a vote on Rulli’s latest censure resolution but indicated he would allow members to decide.
“Al Green was removed pretty quickly. I don’t know if censure is going to be appropriate. I’ll let our colleagues decide that,” Johnson said. “The point of a censure, is to bring someone to the House floor and bring shame upon them for their actions. I think they showed the American people shame already.”
