JUST IN: House Stops GOP-Led Move to Punish Democrat Accused of Pushing Federal Agent

AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis

The House voted on Wednesday to table an effort to censure Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) over a physical altercation at an immigration facility.

Five Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday to table the effort to censure McIver and remove her from the Committee on Homeland Security. A total of 210 Republicans voted in favor, but five joined 207 Democrats in blocking the censure.

McIver and other lawmakers visited a New Jersey ICE facility in May to protest the treatment of illegal migrants being housed there. The lawmakers said they were denied entry, and video shows a physical altercation between the lawmakers and ICE agents that included shoving and shouting.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba announced charges against McIver, accusing her of assaulting ICE agents, something she has denied. Habba alleged that McIver “assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement” during the incident.

“The charges against me are purely political—they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight,” she said in a statement.

The effort to censure McIver was introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA).

“If House Republicans think they can make me run scared, they’re wrong,” McIver said in a statement after Higgins forced a vote on the measure against her.

Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Michael Turner (R-OH), and David Valadao (R-CA) were the Republican lawmakers who sided with Democrats in the vote on Wednesday, while Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) voted present.