House censures Bowman over fire alarm
The Republican-led House voted Thursday to censure Representative Jamaal Bowman, Democrat of New York, for pulling a fire alarm in September that forced the evacuation of a House office building while lawmakers were laboring to avert a government shutdown.
The resolution passed 214191, in a vote that broke largely along party lines.
The resolution was sponsored by Representative Lisa C. McClain, Republican of Michigan, secretary of the House Republican conference, who said Wednesday that Bowman had “knowingly pulled a fire alarm to cause chaos and stop the House from doing business.”
“Mr. Bowman should know the consequences of pulling a fire alarm to cause panic,” McClain said, citing Bowman’s time as a former middle school principal in the Bronx. “In New York schools, the policy is clear. When a student commits a crime on campus, police are called and that student is either suspended or expelled. One would think Representative Bowman would be able to hold himself to the same standards as he held his students to.”
During debate Wednesday, Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, called the resolution “profoundly stupid,” trivial, and a waste of time.
“I find it terribly ironic that we are talking about censuring Mr. Bowman, and yet we never censured any of our colleagues who tried to overturn the election on January 6th,” McGovern said.
Asked about Bowman’s expected censure ahead of Thursday’s vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, said “extreme” Republicans were targeting another Democrat while “burying their heads in the sand with respect to unlawful or unacceptable conduct by their own members.”
Bowman, 47, reiterated Wednesday the explanation he had offered in September: that he had been rushing to the Capitol to vote when he tried to exit through a door in the Cannon Office Building that he usually went through.
“It didn’t open and, due to confusion and rush to go vote, I pulled the fire alarm,” Bowman said. “I immediately took responsibility and accountability for my actions and pled guilty. The legal process on this matter has played out. In no way did I obstruct official proceedings. The vote took place and Democrats were able to ensure we avoided a government shutdown.”
In late October, Bowman pleaded guilty to the charge of pulling a false fire alarm. As part of a deal with the D.C. attorney general’s office, Bowman agreed to pay a $1,000 fine, give $50 to a crime victim’s compensation fund, and, within two weeks, apologize in writing to the US Capitol Police chief, according to court documents.