The GOP-led House opted on Wednesday to advance a resolution to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for pulling a fire alarm in a congressional office building. A motion to table the measure from the Democrats failed by a 216-201 vote. Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA)‚ who is the ranking member of the ethics panel that declined to investigate Bowman over the incident‚ voting “present.” Another 16 members did not vote. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) introduced the censure resolution on Tuesday as “privileged‚” prompting House leadership to act on the measure within two legislative days. Debate on the censure resolution has begun and a final vote is expected to take place as soon as Thursday. “Nobody is above the law‚ Congressmen included‚” McClain said. Today‚ I introduced a PRIVILEGED RESOLUTION to censure Representative Bowman for knowingly causing a false alarm of a fire while the House worked to avert a government shutdown. Nobody is above the law‚ Congressmen included. pic.twitter.com/nMfgOq8uxv — Representative Lisa McClain (@RepLisaMcClain) December 5‚ 2023 Bowman took a plea deal on a misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm that resulted in a temporary evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building in late September ahead of a government spending vote. The congressman has apologized for the incident and denied that he pulled the fire alarm as a delay tactic. “Unfortunately‚ Republicans are here trying to rehash an already litigated matter‚ a matter in which the Republican-controlled House committee of ethics decided to not proceed with any further investigation‚” Bowman said during debate on the censure resolution. “This is an insult to the people I was elected to represent.” McClain‚ in advocating for her resolution‚ said in a post to X‚ “Actions must be met with consequences. Rep. Bowman pulling a fire alarm to curtail an act of Congress was unacceptable and against the law. For that‚ he must stand before Congress and accept Censure.” Last week‚ Rep. George Santos (R-NY) moved to force a House vote to expel Bowman‚ but the embattled New York Republican got expelled the next day. His expulsion followed the release of a scathing House Ethics Committee report. Santos also faces 23 federal charges —  including aggravated identity theft‚ wire fraud‚ and conspiracy — to which he has pleaded not guilty. A censure against a member of the House is essentially a formal rebuke of that lawmaker. It is a less severe form of punishment than expulsion. House members who have been censured this year include Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).