House votes to censure GOP Rep. Gosar

US Rep. Paul Gosar walks on to a subway to the US Capitol Building before Wednesday's vote.

A censure resolution is the most severe form of punishment in the House and represents a dramatic moment on the chamber’s floor.

The last time a member was censured was in 2010, when former Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York was censured by his own party over various ethics violations.

After the resolution is adopted, the lawmaker who is being reprimanded is required to stand in the well of the House while the resolution is read out loud by whoever is presiding over the chamber.

A censure carries no explicit penalties beyond a public admonition.

In the case of GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, the censure resolution that was approved in the House today will also remove him from his two committee assignments.

Removing a member of committee assignments deprives them of a powerful platform to influence legislation and give voice to constituent priorities.

The action led by House Democrats represents a major rebuke to the Arizona Republican for posting a photoshopped anime video to social media showing him appearing to kill Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Biden.

Gosar later took down the video after facing criticism but did not apologize. House Democrats have made clear they believe he must face significant consequences for his actions, while many Republicans have argued Democrats are setting a dangerous precedent that could be used against them in the future.

Following passage of the measure today, House Speaker Pelosi asked Gosar to present himself. She then read out the censure and announced the congressman’s removal from committee assignments.

The resolution approved by the House will remove Gosar from House Oversight and Reform Committee, which Ocasio-Cortez also serves on, and the Natural Resources Committee.

When Gosar stood in the well as Pelosi read the censure to him, a group of Republicans joined him. Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California were sitting in the front row as the censure was read.

US Rep. Paul Gosar takes an elevator before Wednesday's vote.

The House voted largely along party lines to censure GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona.

The move comes after he posted a photoshopped anime video on his Twitter and Instagram accounts showing him appearing to kill Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and attacking President Biden.

The final vote was 223-207-1, with three non-votes.

Republicans Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming voted with all the Democrats for the censure resolution. Republican Rep. David Joyce of Ohio voted present, meaning he took no position either way.

Gosar will now be stripped of his committee assignments: the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which Ocasio-Cortez also serves on, and the Natural Resources Committee.

GOP Reps Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Morgan Griffith of Virginia did not vote.

The vote marks the first time the House voted to censure a sitting member in more than 10 years.

What this means: A censure resolution is the most severe form of punishment in the House, and stripping a member of committee assignments deprives them of a powerful platform to influence legislation and give voice to constituent priorities.

Shortly after the vote, Gosar released a statement defending the anime video and said Democrats are trying to cancel him.

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar was joined by a group of Republicans as he stood in the well while House Speaker Pelosi read the censure to him.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who Democrats stripped of her committee assignments earlier this year, was among the group of GOP lawmakers standing with Gosar in the well as the censure was read.

“By its adoption of the House Resolution 789, the House has resolved that Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona be censured,” Pelosi read.

Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maxine Waters were sitting in the front row as the censure was read.

The House just voted to approve a resolution that censures Republican Rep. Paul Gosar and strip him of his two committee assignments.

Only two Republicans voted in favor of the measure:

Both lawmakers are the lone Republicans on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, told reporters, after her vote to censure GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, that, “This is not an issue about party.” 

When asked about reporting about three members of the Wyoming GOP Central Committee, which narrowly voted to no longer recognize Cheney as a Republican on Saturday, are close family members of her Trump-backed primary opponent Harriet Hageman, Cheney laughed. 

“Well, I won the majority of the non-Hageman vote so I’m proud of that,” she said. 

As the votes on the resolution to censure Rep. Paul Gosar are coming in, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been greeted by a steady stream of her colleagues, often standing in large groups as they all show their support for her. 

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee gave Ocasio-Cortez a hug. Rep. Jamie Raskin gave Ocasio-Cortez a fist bump and a hug. 

Some context: Gosar is under fire for posting a photoshopped anime video to social media showing him appearing to kill Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Biden.

During her remarks, Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against the lack of condemnation by the Republican party.

As the House votes on the resolution to censure him, GOP Rep. Paul Gosar is standing in a group in the back of the House floor.

Those around him include GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who Democrats stripped of her committee assignments earlier this year, GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert and outgoing Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Biggs.

The House has not voted to censure a sitting member in more than 10 years.

The House is voting now on the resolution to censure GOP Rep. Paul Gosar for posting a photoshopped anime video to social media showing him appearing to kill Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Biden.

The vote comes after lawmakers debated the resolution on the House floor.

If passed, the resolution strips Gosar of his two committee assignments. The vote marks the first time the House voted to censure a sitting member in more than 10 years.

The last time a member was censured was in 2010, when former Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York was censured by his own party over various ethics violations. Afterward, Rangel was recognized to address the House for one minute. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urged other lawmakers to vote “yes” on the resolution to censure GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, saying that it is not about partisan politics, it is about “decency” and “security for our members.”

Hoyer argued this vote was about the “rule of law” and “no one, Democrat or Republican ought to be involved to engage in the promotion of violence against a fellow member or indeed a fellow American.”

His comments came after some Republican lawmakers accused Democrats of holding double standards and not responding to members of their own party the same way.

“I’m certain my fellow Democrats will do the same because this is not about party. It’s not about politics. It’s not about partisanship. It’s about decorum, civility, safety, and yes, the rule of law,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer also argued that as elected officials, lawmakers “speak for the American people.” This means their actions must reflect “the highest standards of American society.”

“It is disgusting, madame speaker, whenever someone out in the world tweets a threat of violence or hateful content, but when a member of the house does so – no matter how you rationalize it, no matter how you try to put lipstick on that pig – it is a threat of violence,” Hoyer said. “What Representative Gosar did last week is not just worthy of censure, it demands it.”

“I urge my colleagues to vote yes on both sides of the aisle. To uphold a standard that should be critical to us all,” Hoyer said in closing.

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona said that he did not believe that the violent video targeting Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden, that he posted to his social media accounts, were not “dangerous or threatening.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told CNN that Gosar took down the video after having a conversation with him. Gosar did not apologize for the video.

In his floor remarks, Gosar went on to defend the video and claimed, “last week my staff posted a video depicting a policy battle regarding amnesty for tens of millions of illegal aliens. This is an enemy that speaks to young voters who are too often overlooked. Even Twitter, the left’s mouth piece, did not remove the cartoon, noting that it was in the public’s interest for it to remain. The cartoon directly contributes to the understanding and the discussion of the real life battle of this administration’s open border policies.” 

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In a floor speech ahead of today’s censure vote, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy accused Democrats of hypocrisy in how they are retaliating against GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, arguing that they have not responded to members of their own party in the same way.

McCarthy alluded to several Democrats, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, in his remarks on the floor today. He later suggested that Republicans will use the precedent that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has now set to rebuke Democrats when they retake the majority.

“Under the Pelosi precedent, all the members that I have mentioned earlier will need the approval of a majority to keep those positions in the future,” he said.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized McCarthy for inaction in her own remarks on the House floor ahead of the Gosar censure vote. 

“In response to the Republican leader’s remarks when he says that this action is unprecedented: What I believe is unprecedented is for a member of House leadership of either party to be unable to condemn incitement of violence against a member of this body,” she said.

Ocasio-Cortez also argued that McCarthy’s comparisons of supposed double standards in how Democrats are reacting to Gosar were flawed.

“What is so hard, what is so hard about saying that this is wrong? This is not about me. This is not about representative Gosar, but this is about what we are willing to accept.”

“Our work here matters. Our example matters. There is meaning in our service and as leaders in this country when we incite violence with depictions against our colleagues that trickles down into violence in this country,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “That is where we must draw the line, independent of party identity or belief.” 

“It’s pretty cut and dry. Does anyone in this chamber find this behavior acceptable?” she added.

The House is currently debating a resolution that censures GOP Rep. Paul Gosar and strips him of his two committee assignments.

Gosar is in the House chamber and is watching members debate the resolution that punishes him for his actions. He has been watching the speeches, including the one just made by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who was in the photoshopped anime video he posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

“Does anyone one in this chamber find this behavior acceptable?” Ocasio-Cortez said, looking over to the GOP side.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s lack of condemnation for GOP Rep. Paul Gosar after he posted a video depicting violence against her and President Biden.

The House is currently debating a resolution that censures Gosar and strips him of his two committee assignments.

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Rep. Tom Rice, who voted to impeach President Trump over the Jan. 6 riot, called Rep. Paul Gosar’s tweet “idiotic” and “stupid” but says it wasn’t a threat.

Rep. Fred Upton, another GOP impeachment backer, said the resolution goes a “stretch too far” by removing Gosar from committees. He said he would have been more comfortable if it were just a censure resolution.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, who voted to impeach Trump, said he was leaning against backing the measure. He said that a majority party removing minority party members from their committees goes “down a dangerous path.”

Rep. John Katko also plans to vote “no,” CNN reported earlier.

Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney both plan to vote for it.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned GOP Rep. Paul Gosar for his incendiary social media posts, pointing out that they were specifically targeted at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a woman of color.

“As a woman Speaker of the House, I want to be clear, these threats specifically target a woman, a woman of color, which is… a global phenomenon, meant to silence women and keep them from positions of authority and participating in public life,” said Pelosi, speaking from the House floor today.  

Gosar is facing censure for posting a photoshopped anime video to his Twitter and Instagram accounts showing him appearing to kill Ocasio-Cortez of New York and attacking President Biden.

Pelosi made her remarks as the House was set to vote on a resolution that both censures Gosar of Arizona and removes him from his two committee assignments.

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The House is debating a resolution that censures Rep. Paul Gosar and strips him of his two committee assignments, which if passed would be the first time a sitting House member will be censured in more than 10 years.

The action led by House Democrats represents a major rebuke to the Arizona Republican for posting a photoshopped anime video to social media showing him appearing to kill Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Biden.

Gosar later took down the video after facing criticism but did not apologize, and House Democrats have made clear they believe he must face significant consequences for his actions. The episode underscores the rising tensions and deepening distrust between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), right, speaks during a House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct hearing on Nov 18, 2010 in Washington.

The House will vote Wednesday on a resolution that censures Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and removes him from the Committee on Oversight and Reform, as well as the House Committee on Natural Resources..

A censure resolution is the most severe form of punishment in the House, and requires the censured member to stand in the well of the House while the resolution is read out loud.

The last lawmaker to be censured was then-Rep. Charlie Rangel, a New York Democrat, for multiple ethics violations back in 2010.

The House ethics committee found the 20-term Harlem Democrat guilty on 11 counts of violating House rules, including failing to pay taxes on a vacation home in the Dominican Republic and improperly using his office to raise money for an educational center bearing his name.

Addressing the House, Rangel admitted he had made “serious mistakes,” but asked for a lighter penalty than censure, which is the most serious punishment the House can impose short of expulsion.

Rangel, a former chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, insisted he never used his office for “self-enrichment.”

After being censured, Rangel ripped the decision to impose censure as a “very, very, very political vote.” But “at long last this two-year nightmare is over,” he said.

CNN’s Annie Grayer contributed reporting to this post. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is photographed in Washington, DC, in late October.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the issue of censuring GOP Rep. Paul Gosar “is not about Democrats or Republicans.”

He said this when walking onto the floor to vote on the rule to move forward for the censure.

He also said the House will likely proceed with debate on the Build Back Better Act tomorrow. 

US Rep. Paul Gosar rushes into a Capitol Hill elevator on Wednesday.

The House will vote soon on a resolution that both censures Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and strips him of his two committee assignments.

Gosar is facing censure for his posting of a photoshopped anime video to his Twitter and Instagram accounts showing him appearing to kill Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and attacking President Biden.

A censure resolution is the most severe, if symbolic, form of punishment in the House, and would represent a dramatic moment on the House floor that hasn’t happened in over a decade.

Here’s how it would work: After the resolution is adopted, the lawmaker who is being reprimanded is required to stand in the well of the House while the resolution is read out loud by whoever is presiding over the chamber. 

The last time a member was censured was in 2010, when former Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York was censured by his own party over various ethics violations. Afterward, Rangel was recognized to address the House for one minute. Video of that is here.

However, Gosar – who has been somewhat defiant in the face of backlash over his violent anime video – could refuse to show up. If that’s the case, Democrats could still proceed with the censure resolution without him present, even though he is required to be there. 

In an extreme circumstance, the House Sergeant at Arms could be compelled to haul Gosar to the chamber, but Democratic sources downplayed the prospect of that happening.

The floor debate on the resolution will occur just like any other floor debate, where each side will have time to debate the measure before it gets a vote.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn dismissed GOP threats of retaliation in response to Democrats’ censure resolution against Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, saying Republicans are “free to do that” if they win back control of the House in next year’s midterms.

Clyburn told CNN that “Nobody is out looking for anybody to censure.”

“The American people will know whether or not this is a standard in this particular instance,” he said. “If they want to play childish games, then that’s for them. I don’t think the American people is going to stand for that. I certainly will not.”

Gosar is facing censure for his posting of a photoshopped anime video to his Twitter and Instagram accounts showing him appearing to kill Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and attacking President Biden. Democrats’ decision to pursue a censure resolution and to strip Gosar of committee assignments follows GOP leadership’s not to pursuing any action against the Arizona Republican congressman.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters that Gosar had explained his actions during a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday morning, and his explanation was well received in the conference, according to attendees.