A defiant Congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York will face a censure vote today in the House over his decision to trigger a fire alarm in the Capitol on September 30 in an attempt to delay a vote on the floor. He didn’t attempt to dispute his guilt in the incident. He’s already pleaded guilty and avoided a potential five-year jail term by accepting a $1,000 fine and three months probation, so bemoaning his treatment now would be pointless. But that didn’t stop him from railing against the GOP for allowing the vote to move forward. He claimed that the censure attempt was an example of the Republicans being “deeply unserious and unable to legislate.” He also claimed that he has since “taken accountability” for his actions, which is laughable at best. (AP)

The House will again vote Thursday on punishing one of their own, this time targeting Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman for triggering a fire alarm in one of the U.S. Capitol office buildings in September when the chamber was in session.

If the Republican censure resolution passes, the prominent progressive will become the third Democratic House member to be admonished this year through the process, which is a punishment one step below expulsion from the House.

“It’s painfully obvious to myself, my colleagues and the American people that the Republican Party is deeply unserious and unable to legislate,” Bowman said Wednesday as he defended himself during floor debate. “Their censure resolution against me today continues to demonstrate their inability to govern and serve the American people.”

It will be interesting to see how many Democrats will either vote against the resolution or take the coward’s route and simply vote “present.” Keep in mind that they are voting on a response to an accusation that Bowman has already confessed to and been sentenced for. There is no longer any question about that. It’s also obvious that Bowman initially told barefaced lies in an effort to cover his tracks, claiming that he simply “made a mistake” while hurrying to make it to the floor for a vote. But he was caught on video carefully examining the fire alarm mechanism after removing some safety signs before running away. Here’s a reminder:

It’s been obvious from the beginning that Bowman was intentionally creating a distraction in an effort to prevent a vote from taking place. That is an example of disrupting the business of the House of Representatives. There are dozens if not hundreds of J6 tourists sitting in jail for the same thing, and yet Bowman is getting off with a fine, a brief suspended sentence, and a tongue-lashing.

The censure itself has become largely irrelevant in the modern era. There was a time when being reprimanded or censured in the well of the House was seen as a disgrace and members might resign as a result. But the crew we have in Washington these days simply doesn’t seem to care. Anything that draws some headlines is likely viewed as a positive event. (All publicity is good publicity if they spell your name right.)

How the voters in his district view this situation, along with his anti-Israel, pro-terror rhetoric is another question. Keep in mind that Bowman has already drawn the threat of a primary challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer. That’s been based mostly on Bowman’s antisemitic ranting, but having a censure on his record might add more fuel to that fire. In any event, while Bowman probably should have spent some time behind bars for his stunt, seeing him removed by his own voters would probably be the most just outcome we could hope for.