In a largely party-line vote, the House of Representatives moved to formally reprimand Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., for his actions earlier this year when he pulled a fire alarm without a valid emergency. The censure motion garnered support from 214 representatives, while 191 voted against it. Notably, three Democrats joined forces with Republicans to censure Bowman, namely Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Jahana Hayes, D-Conn.

The incident occurred on Sept. 30 in the Cannon House Office Building of the Capitol complex during a critical day of negotiations aimed at preventing a government shutdown. As lawmakers were scrambling for more time before a vote on the House GOP's funding extension, chaos erupted when a fire alarm rang out, leading to the evacuation of the building.

Subsequent video evidence and eyewitness testimony revealed that it was Rep. Bowman who had pulled the fire alarm. Despite the absence of a real emergency, Bowman, a member of the progressive left-wing "Squad" and a former school principal, claimed he did it inadvertently while rushing to make a vote. He clarified that he believed the alarm would open the door he was trying to pass through.

Rep. Lisa McLain, R-Mich., seized the opportunity to introduce a censure resolution against Bowman, labeling it as "privileged" on Tuesday. This classification compelled the House to address the matter within two legislative days. Efforts by Democrats to block the censure failed, with a vote of 216 in favor of allowing the censure motion to proceed, and 201 against it. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the ethics committee, remained neutral and voted "present."

The decision to proceed with the censure vote drew criticism from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accusing House Republicans of wasting time on a trivial issue instead of addressing pressing matters such as the economy, inflation, affordable housing, and the ongoing gun violence epidemic.

With this censure, Rep. Bowman faces a formal rebuke from the House of Representatives for his actions. The vote signifies the House's disapproval of his decision to pull the fire alarm without a legitimate reason. As the issue unfolds, it remains to be seen how this incident will impact Rep. Bowman's standing within the House and his relationship with his colleagues.