Representative Paul Gosar was stripped of his two committee assignments Wednesday after the House voted to censure the Arizona Republican for a video he posted on social media.
The video spliced his head onto a character of an anime cartoon and showed him attacking characters with the heads of two prominent Democrats – President Joe Biden and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
The resolution to censure Gosar passed 223-207. Every Democrat in the House voted in favor along with two Republicans: Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. One other Republican voted “present.”
The official resolution said that “depictions of violence can foment actual violence and jeopardize the safety of elected officials, as witnessed in this chamber on January 6” and that “violence against women in politics is a global phenomenon meant to silence women and discourage them from seeking positions of authority.”
The offending video, depicting Gosar using a sword to kill Ocasio-Cortez and then attack Biden, garnered more than three million views on Gosar’s official Congressional Twitter and Instagram accounts last week.
In his defense, Gosar said he does not “espouse violence toward anyone” and that he took the video down of his accord when learning it was seen as a threat by his fellow elected officials in Congress.
“There is no threat in the cartoon other than the threat that immigration poses to our country, and no threat was intended by my staff or me,” Gosar said on the floor of the House.
Republicans balked at Gosar’s punishment.
“Today's action once again tramples on the traditional norms of the House – The idea that the majority and the minority have the right to appoint their own members to committees as they see fit," Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the House Rules Committee, said. "It sets a dangerous and disturbing precedent that will likely change the character of the House in the years to come, and not for the better.”
However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded that Gosar’s punishment was solely based on his actions and about discouraging “workplace harassment against women.” She also rebuked the Republican leadership in the House for their own lack of discipline towards Gosar, calling it “sad that this entire House must take this step.”
“These actions demand a response,” Pelosi said. “We cannot have a member joking about murdering each other or threatening the president of the United States. This is both an endangerment of our elected officials and an insult to the institution of the House of Representatives.”
Gosar is only the 24th member of Congress in history to receive an official censure, and the first since Charles Rangel of New York in 2010.
The only punishment more severe than censure is expulsion.
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