Jamaal Bowman Says He’s ‘Not Worried’ about House Censure, Expulsion Resolutions after Fire-Alarm Incident

Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman is brushing off multiple House Republican-sponsored legislative efforts to punish him for pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Building on Saturday on his way to vote on a stopgap bill to fund the government.

A new censure resolution from House GOP Conference secretary Lisa McClain of Michigan would strip the New York progressive of his committee assignments, according to legislative text first reported by National Review, and a separate resolution introduced by Republican representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York aims to expel him for the conduct.

“I mean, they’re going to do what they’re going to do because that’s what they do, but I’m not worried about that,” Bowman told National Review Monday evening. 

The Capitol Police are currently investigating the incident. Bowman has owned up to pulling the fire alarm, claiming it was an attempt to open an emergency exit door on his way to the chamber. His office has called the move an “honest mistake” and denied claims that he pulled the alarm to delay the vote.

Earlier this week, Bowman’s staff circulated a memo to House Democratic officers calling on members to deflect attention from the news firestorm by urging Republicans to “focus their energy on the Nazi members” of their conference instead. Bowman has since apologized for using the term “Nazi” in reference to his House GOP colleagues and blamed his staffers for sending the memo without his consent.

“As soon as I saw it, I sent out the tweet that retracted it and made my position very clear,” Bowman said.

Hat tip to New York Times reporter Luke Broadwater, who asked Bowman in a scrum with National Review and other reporters whether he had ever punished students for pulling the fire alarm while he served as a middle-school principal in the Bronx. 

“I’ll have more to say, you know, after the decision is made in terms of what happens with the investigation,” Bowman said with a laugh, evading the question.