House Rebukes Rep. Bowman for Fire Alarm Incident
Censure Vote Falls Largely Along Party Lines
House votes to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for triggering a fire alarm in a House office building.
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted on Thursday to censure Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York for triggering a fire alarm in a House office building in September. The vote largely fell along party lines, with all but one Republican voting in favor of the censure resolution and all but two Democrats voting against it.
The censure resolution accuses Bowman of "knowingly and willfully" setting off the fire alarm without cause, a violation of House rules. The resolution also states that Bowman's actions "brought discredit upon the House of Representatives and its Members" and "undermine the public's trust in the institution of the House."
Bowman has defended his actions, saying that he was trying to alert House staff to a fire hazard. However, the House Sergeant-at-Arms, who is responsible for security in the House office buildings, said that there was no fire hazard at the time of the alarm.
The censure is a formal reprimand but does not carry any legislative consequences. It is the first time that a member of the House has been censured since 2010.
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