House moves closer to censuring Tlaib, citing ‘River to the Sea’ slogan

The House of Representatives moved closer to censuring Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, on Tuesday, putting lawmakers on track to formally censure the only Palestinian American in Congress over her statements on the war between Israel and Hamas.

One Democrat broke with the party and joined Republicans in voting against filing or killing the resolution, which accuses Ms. Tlaib on “promoting false narratives” surrounding Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and “calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.” The vote was 213 to 208, with one vote “present,” indicating there was enough support in the House of Representatives to pass the resolution in the final vote expected Wednesday.

Representative Brad Schneider of Illinois was the only Democrat to join Republicans in passing the measure. Representative Susan Wild, Democrat of Pennsylvania, voted “present” and declined to take a position on whether the measure should be blocked.

The Republican-authored measure to censure Ms. Tlaib was the latest flashpoint in an increasingly intense debate in Congress over the war between Israel and Hamas, which has divided Democrats. While many of them staunchly support Israel, pressure is mounting from the progressive left to call for a ceasefire and focus on the plight of the Palestinian people in the face of rising civilian deaths and a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Ms. Tlaib has been by far the most outspoken member of Congress to do this.

The measure, offered by Representative Rich McCormick, Republican of Georgia, argued that a statement made by Ms. Tlaib after Hamas’s attack on Israel – which called for the end of “the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance” – it “defended” terrorism.

It also cited Ms. Tlaib’s embrace of the phrase “from the river to the sea,” a pro-Palestinian rallying cry widely seen as a call for Israel’s extermination and deemed anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League. The resolution called the phrase “a genocidal call for violence to destroy the State of Israel and its people and replace them with a Palestinian state stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”

Ms. Tlaib has said that the slogan, which was used by pro-Palestinian protesters in a video she posted accusing President Biden of supporting the Gaza genocide, “is an ambitious call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, and not death, destruction or to be hated.”

“It is unfortunate that my colleagues are more focused on silencing me than on saving lives as the death toll in Gaza exceeds 10,000,” she said. said in a statement before the vote. She added: “I have repeatedly denounced the horrific attacks and murders of civilians by Hamas and the Israeli government, and mourned the Israeli and Palestinian lives lost.”

Many Democrats have condemned Ms. Tlaib’s defense of the slogan.

Last week, the House of Representatives rejected another censure resolution of Ms. Tlaib, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, which accused Ms. Tlaib of “anti-Semitic activities” and that an Oct. 18 protest at a House of Representatives office building proclaimed. “revolt.”

Mrs. Greene amended and reintroduced its censure resolution, which will be subject to a similar vote on Tuesday evening. The new version refers to the October 18 protest, in which Ms. Tlaib accused Israel of genocide, as an “illegal occupation” of a House of Representatives office building. The previous resolution called it an “insurrection,” alienating many Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats.

Representative Ken Buck, Republican of Colorado, opposed Ms. Greene’s resolution last week and said he planned to vote against the new pair of censures as well.

“It is not our job to disapprove of someone because we disagree with them,” he said. ‘Let the ethics committee look into it. Let others look at it, but I will not vote for a motion of censure unless it concerns very serious behavior.”

It is rare for a member of Congress to be censured, which amounts to a public reprimand one step below expulsion. Before June, the House of Representatives had censured members only 24 times in the chamber’s history. But censure resolutions have increasingly been used in recent months to spread criticism and partisan blame across the aisle.

In the House’s first week of legislative business, after a month of paralysis due to the chaotic speakers’ race, the House debated two censure resolutions back-to-back. Since then, at least three more censure resolutions have been filed.

The measures are privileged under House rules, meaning they take precedence over other legislative business and are not subject to the discretion of congressional leaders.

Karoun Demirjian reporting contributed.