House rejects Tlaib censure resolution after Republicans defect

The House voted down a measure seeking to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), dealing a blow to conservative Republicans who sought to punish the Michigan Democrat over accusations of antisemitic behavior related to comments she made about Israel last month.

Lawmakers voted 222-186 to table the motion, overcoming the simple majority vote needed to kill the vote on the House floor. The measure failed after 23 Republicans joined all Democrats in tabling the motion, pushing it past the 217-vote threshold.

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Republicans who voted to table the motion include Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Ken Buck (R-CO), John Duarte (D-CA), Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Rich McCormick (R-GA), Max Miller (R-OH), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chip Roy (R-TX), Austin Scott (R-GA), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), Mike Turner (R-OH), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), and Tim Walberg (R-MI).

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced the censure resolution last week that accuses Tlaib of displaying “antisemitic activity” and “leading an insurrection” at the Capitol, referring to a demonstration last week when pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside members’ offices to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. More than 100 of the protesters were arrested, with a handful being charged with assaulting police officers, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.

The resolution was filed in response to comments made by Tlaib blaming Israel for a deadly airstrike at a Christian hospital in Gaza last month despite U.S. intelligence reports of evidence the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. However, Tlaib refused to walk back the comments, prompting pushback from her Republican colleagues.

Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP

The censure resolution would’ve required a two-thirds vote to pass, but the table to motion only required a simple majority to kill the measure temporarily. A handful of Republicans came out against the motion ahead of the vote on Wednesday, making it increasingly unlikely to pass during a final vote.

“Because what’s the point of having an ethics committee if we don’t use it,” Armstrong said.

Greene criticized her Republican colleagues who voted against the motion shortly after the vote was tallied, calling the GOP lawmakers “feckless.”

“This is why Republicans NEVER do anything to stop the communist Democrats or ever hold anyone accountable,” she said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “PATHETIC.”

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Several Democrats predicted a censure resolution would be forthcoming shortly after the House elected a new speaker, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) brushing it off as a political distraction.

“With all the challenges we are facing right now, House Republicans are racing to once again list up something that Marjorie Taylor Greene is doing, which tells us that their focus continues to be in the wrong place,” he said.