House Republican moves to force vote on Bowman censure after fire alarm incident

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), the secretary of the GOP conference, moved to force a vote on her resolution censuring Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday, fast-tracking a measure that would rebuke the New York Democrat for falsely pulling a firm alarm in a House office building in September.

McClain called her censure measure to the floor as a privileged resolution Tuesday afternoon, a procedural maneuver that forces leadership to take action on the measure within two legislative days.

Censure requires a majority vote in the chamber. Democrats, however, will likely motion to table the measure or refer it to a committee which, if successful through a majority vote, would shield the chamber from having to weigh in on the matter directly.

The resolution, which spans three pages, zeroes in on the incident on Sept. 30 when Bowman falsely pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building during a key vote on legislation to avert a government shutdown. Bowman was charged with a misdemeanor following the episode. He pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor and agreed to pay a fine and write an apology to the Capitol Police.

McClain’s resolution calls Bowman’s move “a theatrical attempt to cause panic, therefore endangering the safety and well-being of members of the House, of staff, and members of the public on the Capitol grounds.”

Bowman has insisted the incident was an accident.