The U.S. House of Representatives voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) late Tuesday evening over her antisemitic rhetoric, making her the 26th member censured in the history of the House.
House votes to censure Tlaib for supporting antisemitic tropes. The vote: 234-188. 22 Democrats voted to censure Tlaib. 4 GOPers voted nay. 4 mbrs voted present. She becomes the 26th mbr censured in House history
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) November 8, 2023
Tlaib has been under fire for her public remarks since the Hamas terror attacks against Israel on October 7. Following the horrific attacks, Tlaib was eerily quiet until pressed for a response. Finally, she issued a statement that essentially glossed over the attacks and went straight to decrying “occupation” and an “apartheid system.”
Since then, Tlaib has fanned the flames of controversy between maintaining the display of a Palestinian flag outside her office and steadfastly avoiding pointed questions regarding the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.
Tlaib narrowly avoided being censured last Wednesday on a vote that failed 222-186. However, in a relatively swift reversal, her fellow congressmembers voted in favor of censuring her Tuesday night.
The vote was 234 in favor of the censure, with 188 opposing it and four members voting “present.”
This was not a straight party-line vote. Twenty-two Democrats voted in favor of the censure, while four Republicans voted nay.
The push to censure Tlaib gained new life after she released a propaganda video Friday afternoon calling for an immediate ceasefire and including a clip from a Michigan rally where the crowd is chanting: “From the river to the sea!”
That proved a bridge too far for even some of her fellow Democrats, despite the impassioned (some might say unhinged) pleas of her fellow Squad members Tuesday afternoon.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) explained his reason for voting in favor of the censure.
2) Schneider: But unfortunately it is the only vehicle available to formally rebuke the dangerous disinformation and aspersions that Rep. Tlaib continues to use and defend. I feel that I have no other recourse but to vote to censure her.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) November 8, 2023
“I recognize this censure resolution is not a perfect resolution in its language or form. But unfortunately, it is the only vehicle available to formally rebuke the dangerous disinformation and aspersions that Rep. Tlaib continues to use and defend. I feel that I have no other recourse but to vote to censure her.”
Earlier Tuesday, regarding his (lone Democrat) vote to advance the censure motion to the floor, Schneider said, regarding the “from the river to the sea” slogan:
“It is nothing else but the call for the destruction of Israel and murder of Jews. I will always defend the right to free speech. Tlaib has the right to say whatever she wants. But it cannot go unanswered.”
If it’s any consolation to Tlaib, she joins fellow Squad member Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in being rebuked by her fellow congressmembers.
With the vote, Tlaib will become the second Muslim-American woman in Congress to be formally admonished this year for her criticism of the Jewish state. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was removed in February from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for similar comments she made about Israel.