The House on Wednesday rejected a Republican push to censure New Jersey Democratic Representative, LaMonica McIver, and remove her from the Homeland Security Committee as she faces federal assault charges tied to an incident at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark earlier this year.
Lawmakers voted 215-207 to table the measure. All Democrats and several Republicans opposed it, while two GOP members voted present. McIver’s trial is set for November.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), accused McIver of shoving and grabbing federal officers during a May confrontation involving Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Baraka was arrested but later cleared. He filed a lawsuit surrounding the matter earlier this summer. McIver has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assaulting and interfering with immigration agents.
Video showed McIver in a crowd of officers as Baraka was taken into custody. Prosecutors accuse her of striking one officer with her arm, but evidence remains weak. After the incident, she continued an oversight visit inside the facility with fellow NJ Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez.
Republican leaders argued her committee seat was a conflict of interest. Democrats dismissed the censure attempt as partisan and cheered when the vote ended.
The censure attempt against me has failed. Rightfully so. It was a baseless, partisan effort to shut me up. I was not elected to play political games—I was elected to serve. I won’t back down. Not now. Not ever.
— Rep. LaMonica McIver (@replamonica.bsky.social) September 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
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McIver took to social media after the vote, stating: “The censure attempt against me has failed. Rightfully so. It was a baseless, partisan effort to shut me up.” She goes on, “I will not back down. Not now. Not ever.”
The failed resolution came the same day Democrats introduced a censure measure against Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican from Florida, over allegations of assault, harrassment and stolen valor.
McIver serves New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District. She faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted on her charges. She remains on the Homeland Security panel following the failed vote.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.