A House Democrat responded Tuesday to GOP efforts to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) by forcing his own vote to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.).
Why it matters: It's a prime example of censure increasingly being used as a partisan weapon rather than the House's most harsh rebuke from rule-breaking aside from expulsion.
- The introduction of censure resolutions, along with impeachment, expulsion and contempt measures, has spiked in recent years.
- Members of both parties have also been pushing back against the trivialization of censure by voting to defeat censure measures against members of the opposing party.
Driving the news: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) took to the House floor Tuesday to force a vote on her resolution censuring Omar for her critical comments and posts about Charlie Kirk following his assassination last week.
- Mace's resolution would kick Omar off the House Budget and Education & Welfare Committees.
- In response, Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) introduced a measure that would censure Mills but not kick him off committees.
Zoom in: The Mills resolution centers on reports and allegations of domestic violence and sexual misconduct, stolen valor, making false financial disclosures and committing campaign finance violations.
- Mills has disputed all of those allegations. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What's next: Both the Omar and Mills censure votes are set to happen by the end of the week.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
