Al Green | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2011 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's9th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Bell (redistricted) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1947-09-01)September 1, 1947 (age 78) New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Florida A&M University Howard University Tuskegee University Texas Southern University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Alexander N. Green[1] (born September 1, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving as aU.S. representative fromTexas's 9th congressional district since 2005. A member of theDemocratic Party, Green served as thejustice of the peace ofHarris County, Texas from 1977 to 2004. Green is a member of theUnited States House Committee on Financial Services.
On March 6, 2025, Green wascensured for having repeatedly interrupted PresidentDonald Trump'saddress to a joint session of Congress two days earlier.
Green was born on September 1, 1947, inNew Orleans, Louisiana.[2] He attendedFlorida A&M University,Howard University, andTuskegee Institute, but did not receive an undergraduate degree from any of these institutions. Despite this, Green earned aJuris Doctor in 1973 fromThurgood Marshall School of Law atTexas Southern University.[2] He is a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[3][4]
In 1974, Green co-founded the law firm of Green, Wilson, Dewberry, and Fitch.[2][4] He has served as president of the HoustonNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).[3]
In 1977, Green was electedjustice of the peace inHarris County, Texas. He held this position until 2004.[5][4]
In 2004, following redistricting, Green defeated incumbent Rep.Chris Bell by 35 percentage points in a Democratic primary in Texas's 9th congressional district. Green received the support of Reps.Sheila Jackson Lee andMaxine Waters.[6] Green then won the 2004 general election.[7] Green has been re-elected 10 times.[5]
In Congress, Green has focused on issues such as fair housing and fair hiring practices for the poor and minorities.[8]
After the2012 election, Green held a press conference in Houston at which he asserted that federal budget reform should be prioritized during thelame-duck session that year. He also announced a plan for infrastructure investments intended to create jobs, unify the country, and improve the economy.[9]
Green has supported theFederal Reserve's program ofquantitative easing and claims it has led to economic recovery since the2008 financial crisis.[10]
On May 17, 2017, Green presented articles of impeachment against PresidentDonald Trump, citing Trump's firing of FBI DirectorJames Comey. Immediately after his speech, he shelved the document without calling for a vote, but continued to call for impeachment.[11] He reintroduced articles of impeachment on July 16, 2019, citing Trump's attacks on four Democratic congresswomenof color. As a privileged resolution, the House was required to vote on it.[12][13][14] On July 17, the House voted to table the resolution, effectively killing it. The vote was 332–95, with 95 Democrats (40%) voting in favor of the resolution and all Republicans against it.[15]
During the House Financial Services Committee hearing on April 10, 2019, at which the CEOs of all the major banks and investment institutions of the United States were sworn to testify, Green presented several questions that were regarded as controversial. He began by asking why all the executives were white men, then asked whether they hypothetically saw themselves succeeded in the future by men of color or women, repeatedly asking them to raise and lower their hands. Green then askedJ. P. Morgan CEOJamie Dimon whether the institution he chaired had profited fromslavery, to which Dimon responded that it had taken place more than two centuries ago.[16]
On February 6, 2024, he left a hospital for a short time to vote from awheelchair against theimpeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas. The House failed to impeach Mayorkas that day, and the final vote was 214–216.[17][18][19]
On March 4, 2025, during President Donald Trump's address to ajoint session of Congress, in response to Trump calling his victory in the2024 presidential election "amandate", Green stood up, pointing his cane at the dais and shouted, "You have no mandate to cut Medicaid."[20]House SpeakerMike Johnson ordered that Green be escorted out of the House Chamber by thesergeant-at-arms after repeatedly interrupting the address.[21] The following day, RepresentativeDan Newhouse introduced, and the House moved forward amotion to censure Green for his actions the previous evening. Democrats failed to block the motion with a 209–211–1 vote.[22] He was censured the next day on a vote of 224–198–2, with ten Democrats joining every Republican in voting in favor of the censure.[23] During the aftermath of the vote's proceedings, he and several other Democratic representatives took to the House well to sing the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome", which resulted inHouse SpeakerMike Johnson calling for order and, later, a recess.[24]
Green supportsabortion rights and consistently votes against restrictions on abortion. On October 13, 2011, he voted against an amendment to theAffordable Care Act which prevented insurance programs created by the Act from covering abortions.[32]
Green also supportsgun control. He spoke out after theTrayvon Martin shooting, asking members of the African-American community to show faith in the justice system and let the courts do their job and convict George Zimmerman.[33]
Green voted for PresidentBarack Obama'sbailout of the auto industry in 2009.[32] On December 10, 2008, he wrote a statement supporting the auto bailout, saying, "The auto bailout is really about bailing out people, and the people of this country... I think that [how tax dollars are spent] is a legitimate concern for the American people, but I do think, with the proper strings attached, we can bail out the people...who may lose their jobs."[34]
Green is a member of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus. He is a strong supporter of holdingPakistan as an ally in South Asia. After the assassination offormer Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007, which initially destabilized the country as riots erupted, Green issued a statement condemning the assassination as a "dastardly effort to circumvent the democratic process." He announced his support of the US's continued alliance with Pakistan, and urged Pakistanis to continue their push towards true democracy, "knowing that freedom, justice, and democracy are difficult to achieve."[35]
On December 6, 2017, Green denounced President Donald Trump for "casting contempt ontransgender individuals, inciting hate and hostility, and sowing discord among the people of the United Stateson the basis of gender."[36] Green is a member of theCongressional LGBT Equality Caucus. On February 25, 2021, Green gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the House in support of theEquality Act, comparing the use of religion to support homophobia by representatives opposed to the bill to the use of religion to support racist policies, saying, "You used God to enslave my foreparents. You used God to segregate me in schools. You used God to put me in the back of the bus. Have you no shame?"[37]
On October 25, 2023, Green and eight other Democrats (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,Jamaal Bowman,Cori Bush,Andre Carson,Summer Lee,Ilhan Omar,Delia Ramirez, andRashida Tlaib), along with RepublicanThomas Massie, voted againstcongressional bi-partisannon-binding resolution H. Res. 771 supporting Israel in the wake of theOctober 7 attacks. The resolution stated that the House of Representatives: "stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched byHamas and other terrorists" and "reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel's security"; the resolution passed by an overwhelming 412-10-6 margin.[38][39]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green | 114,462 | 72.59 | +13.99 | |
| Republican | Arlette Molina | 42,132 | 26.57 | −13.74 | |
| Libertarian | Stacey Bourland | 1,972 | 1.24 | +0.15 | |
| Majority | 72,330 | 45.62 | |||
| Turnout | 158,566 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 60,253 | 100.00 | +27.41 | |
| Majority | 60,253 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 60,253 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 143,868 | 93.65 | −6.35 | |
| Libertarian | Brad Walters | 9,760 | 6.35 | +6.35 | |
| Majority | 134,108 | 87.30 | −12.70 | ||
| Turnout | 153,628 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 80,107 | 75.74 | −17.91 | |
| Republican | Steve Mueller | 24,201 | 22.88 | +22.88 | |
| Libertarian | Michael W. Hope | 1,459 | 1.38 | −4.97 | |
| Majority | 55,906 | 52.86 | −34.44 | ||
| Turnout | 105,767 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 144,075 | 78.49 | +2.75 | |
| Republican | Steve Mueller | 36,139 | 19.69 | −3.19 | |
| Green | Vanessa Foster | 1,743 | 0.95 | +0.95 | |
| Libertarian | John Wieder | 1,609 | 0.88 | −0.50 | |
| Majority | 107,936 | 58.80 | +5.94 | ||
| Turnout | 183,566 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 78,109 | 90.82 | +12.33 | |
| Libertarian | Johnny Johnson | 7,894 | 9.18 | +8.30 | |
| Majority | 70,215 | 81.64 | +22.84 | ||
| Turnout | 86,003 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 152,032 | 80.64 | −10.18 | |
| Republican | Jeff Martin | 36,491 | 19.36 | +19.36 | |
| Majority | 115,541 | 61.28 | −20.36 | ||
| Turnout | 188,523 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 136,256 | 89.06 | +8.42 | |
| Libertarian | Phil Kurtz | 5,940 | 3.88 | +3.88 | |
| Independent | Benjamin Hernandez | 5,774 | 3.77 | +3.77 | |
| Independent | Kesha Rogers | 5,031 | 3.29 | +3.29 | |
| Majority | 130,316 | 85.18 | +23.90 | ||
| Turnout | 153,001 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 172,938 | 75.48 | |
| Republican | Johnny Teague | 49,575 | 21.64 | |
| Libertarian | Joe Sosa | 6,594 | 2.88 | |
| Total votes | 229,107 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 125,446 | 76.68 | |
| Republican | Jimmy Leon | 38,161 | 23.32 | |
| Total votes | 163,607 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Green (incumbent) | 184,141 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 184,141 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
Green is aBaptist Christian. He is divorced.[42]
Green underwent intestinal surgery in 2024.[43]
In 2008, former staffer Lucinda Daniels accused Green of sexual assault. Daniels filed a lawsuit against Green and then withdrew it. Green filed a counter-lawsuit, alleging Daniels had threatened to sue Green for workplace discrimination if Green did not pay her money. Green subsequently withdrew his suit too.The Hill reported that a spokesman for Green said the two had had a "romantic encounter" in 2007, but that the allegations of sexual harassment were untrue.[44] In 2017, at a time whenseveral other congressmen were facing accusations of sexual misconduct, Green and Daniels released a joint statement saying that both regretted having "hastily made allegations and charges against one another that have been absolutely resolved". The statement added that the two were "friends".[45]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 9th congressional district 2005–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 49th | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
