House on track to censure Jamaal Bowman for false fire alarm

The House of Representatives appeared on track Thursday to formally censure Representative Jamaal Bowman, Democrat of New York, for setting off a fire alarm in a House office building in September, the latest in a series of partisan retaliations using was made a once rare form of punishment by Congress.

The censure resolution, introduced by Rep. Lisa McClain, Republican of Michigan, survived a vote Wednesday, with 216 Republicans voting to keep it alive while 201 Democrats voted to override it. One Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, voted present.

Mr. Bowman was captured on video setting off a fire alarm on September 30 as Democrats sought time to revise a Republican relief bill unveiled just before the vote. The false alarm led to an evacuation of the building and added to the chaos as Congress rushed to avert a government shutdown that was set to begin that evening.

Mr. Bowman pleaded guilty to a single false fire alarm charge and agreed to pay the maximum $1,000 fine after prosecutors in Washington charged him in October.

“While the House worked tirelessly to prevent a government shutdown, Representative Bowman worked nefariously to prevent a vote,” said Ms. McClain. said in a statement. “It is reprehensible that a member of Congress would go to such lengths to prevent House Republicans from voting to keep the government running and Americans receiving their paychecks. Especially from a former teacher, who without a doubt understands the function and severity of activating a fire alarm.”

Mr Bowman said in a statement at the time and reiterated in the House of Representatives on Wednesday that he had no intention of setting off the alarm. He said he accidentally did this when he was rushing to the Capitol and the door he normally exited would not open.

“I am ashamed to admit that I activated the fire alarm because I mistakenly thought it would open the door,” Mr Bowman said in his previous statement. “I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused. But I want to be very clear: it was in no way my intention to postpone a vote. It was exactly the opposite: I was urgently trying to get to a vote.”

Capitol Police investigated the incident and shared evidence with prosecutors. The House Administration Committee has opened its own investigation.

“I immediately took responsibility and accountability for my actions and admitted guilt. Immediately,” Mr Bowman said on the floor on Wednesday. “Republicans are trying to reignite an ongoing issue here.”

During House debate on the measure, Republicans rejected Mr. Bowman’s claim that the alarm sounding was an accident and argued that he should be held accountable.

“He had every opportunity to alert the Capitol Police to his mistake, but he chose not to,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, Republican of Florida and a former firefighter. “If it was a simple mistake, I wouldn’t be here. But it wasn’t a simple mistake.”

Former Representative George Santos, Republican of New York, had done so introduced an expulsion measure Mr Bowman of the House of Representatives, for setting off the alarm shortly before he was evicted. Mr Santos’ resolution expired after he was ousted by an overwhelming majority.

Censure resolutions, which if passed would amount to public reprimands one step below expulsion, have piled up in the House of Representatives this session of Congress. They have become common tools for party criticism, reflecting the deep polarization that has gripped the institution.

That trend emerged on Wednesday during the parliamentary debate on the measure.

“This is an extremely stupid resolution,” said Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, in defense of Mr. Bowman. “Under Republican control, this chamber has become a place where trivial issues are passionately discussed, and important issues not at all. Republicans have focused more on censoring people in this Congress than on passing bills that will help the people we represent or in any way improve this country.”

Before June, the House had done so members only censored 24 times in its history. This year, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has criticized two members: Representative Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, for his role in the investigation of former President Donald J. Trump, and Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, for her embrace of the pro-Palestinian phrase. , ‘from the river to the sea’, which is considered by many to be a call for the destruction of Israel.

Ms. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, defended the phrase as “an ambitious call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hatred.”