The House voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) late Tuesday night for her embrace of the controversial “From the river to the sea” slogan amid the Israel-Hamas war. Twenty-two Democrats joined most Republicans in supporting the resolution, despite Democratic leaders whipping a no vote.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) offered the more narrowly tailored censure resolution, which didn’t require Tlaib to go to the well of the chamber for a verbal reprimand.
McCormick’s resolution accuses Tlaib — the first member of Congress of Palestinian descent — of “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”
Tlaib released a video over the weekend that included the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The slogan is a rallying cry for Hamas, the terrorist group that executed the deadly Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. More than 1,400 Israelis died in those attacks, as well as some Americans. Hundreds more were kidnapped.
In an emotional speech on the House floor Tuesday, Tlaib said she’s critical of the Israeli government, not the Israeli people, and that her comments about the war have been misconstrued.
“I can’t believe I have to say this but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings,” Tlaib said.
House Republican leaders initially scheduled a vote on the censure resolution for Wednesday. But leadership moved it to the vote series late Tuesday night after it became clear they didn’t have the votes to pass their FY2024 Transportation-HUD funding bill. GOP leaders pulled the THUD bill from the floor.
In an example of the anger at Tlaib within her caucus, 22 Democrats supported the censure resolution.
The Democrats who voted yes include: Reps. Steve Cohen (Tenn.), Jim Costa (Calif.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Don Davis (N.C.), Lois Frankel (Fla.), Jared Golden (Maine), Dan Goldman (N.Y.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Greg Landsman (Ohio), Susie Lee (Nev.), Kathy Manning (N.C.), Jared Moskowitz (Fla.), Wiley Nickel (N.C.), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Pat Ryan (N.Y.), Brad Schneider (Ill.), Kim Schrier (Wash.), Darren Soto (Fla.), Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) and Frederica Wilson (Fla.).
But not all Republicans were on board with the effort, with Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), John Duarte (Calif.) and Tom McClintock (Calif.) voting against the resolution.
Democrats tried to table the McCormick proposal Tuesday but that gambit failed. Last week, Democrats and two dozen Republicans voted to defeat Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) effort to censure Tlaib. Greene’s resolution accused Tlaib of “leading an insurrection.”
Greene offered a slightly toned-down version this week but pulled her resolution Tuesday night, saying “leadership failed to organize” the schedule. In reality, Greene’s second attempt at censuring Tlaib didn’t have support within the GOP conference while the McCormick version did.
— Max Cohen and Heather Caygle
