It's the second time in two weeks the House is considering a Tlaib censure
House Democrat speaks out against Tlaib censure resolutions in House
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut on Tuesday spoke out against the censure resolutions targeting several members of Congress, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and defended their free speech rights.
A single Democratic lawmaker joined most House Republicans to advance a censure resolution against Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., on Tuesday.
Six Republican lawmakers voted to table the resolution, which would have effectively killed it – Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Ken Buck, R-Colo., John Duarte, R-Calif., Mike Garcia, R-Calif., Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., and Tom McClintock, R-Calif.
It was not immediately clear which Democratic lawmaker voted with Republicans to move the censure forward. The actual vote on censuring Tlaib is expected to now occur on Wednesday.
Tlaib, clad in a traditional Palestinian garment called a keffiyeh, sat in the front row of the House chamber between fellow progressive Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Summer Lee, D-Pa.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., waits to vote during the House floor after the third failed vote to elect a new Speaker of the House in the Capitol on Friday, October 20, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
She has been under fire by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over her response to the war between Israel and Hamas. Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, has been vocal about the Israeli government's killing of civilians in Gaza and has espoused phrases that even her colleagues in the House Democratic caucus deemed anti-semitic.
House Republicans introduced two different censures aimed at censuring Tlaib on Monday.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced a modified version of her previous Tlaib censure, which failed to advance last week. Meanwhile, Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., one of the 22 Republicans to vote against Greene's resolution, introduced his own.
McCormick's resolution advanced on Tuesday afternoon, while Greene's is expected to have a preliminary vote later in the evening.
Democrats' bid to shield Tlaib largely failed due to having too many absences on their side of the aisle. If all members were present, Republicans could have only lost four votes to still advance the censure.
Elizabeth Elkind is a reporter for Fox News Digital focused on Congress as well as the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and politics. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
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