US lawmaker censured for protest at Trump speech

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives censured Texas Democrat Al Green on Thursday after he was thrown out of the chamber for repeatedly interrupting President Donald Trump’s address to Congress.

Green, 77, stood up and waved his cane as he heckled the Republican leader during Tuesday’s speech, refusing to sit down despite being warned that he risked removal.

Republican congressman Dan Newhouse — a moderate who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 — had introduced the resolution to subject Green to a formal reprimand in front of his colleagues.

“Decorum and order are the institutional grounds for the way we do business in the United States Congress, and the sheer disregard for that standard during President Trump’s address by the gentleman from Texas is unacceptable,” Newhouse said in a statement.

Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Green was a “fool and a clown” that no one takes seriously.

The president said the Texan “should be forced to pass an IQ test because he is a low IQ individual and we don’t need low IQ individuals in Congress.”