Al Green Bio
Alexander N. Green, widely known as Al Green, is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 9th congressional district since 2005. Born on September 1, 1947, in New Orleans, Louisiana, he built a legal career in Houston before entering Congress, where he has focused on fair housing, economic recovery, and civil rights. A member of the United States House Committee on Financial Services, Green has drawn national attention for repeatedly introducing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump and for high-profile floor protests, including a 2025 censure and a 2026 removal during the State of the Union.
Early Life and Background
Alexander N. Green was born on September 1, 1947, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up during the era of the modern civil rights movement, a period that shaped his later commitment to social justice and equal opportunity. Green attended Florida A&M University, Howard University, and the Tuskegee Institute, three of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities, although he did not earn an undergraduate degree from any of them. He became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, an organization with a long tradition of Black leadership and public service.
Despite leaving the traditional undergraduate path, Green pursued legal training at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston, earning a Juris Doctor in 1973. The school’s naming, after the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, reflected its mission of training lawyers committed to civil rights, a mission that aligned with Green’s own aspirations. His legal education laid the foundation for a career in public service that would eventually take him from local courts to the floor of the United States Congress.
Path to US Politics
After earning his law degree, Green co-founded the law firm of Green, Wilson, Dewberry, and Fitch in 1974, beginning a legal practice rooted in Houston’s African American community. He also served as president of the Houston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), deepening his involvement in civil rights advocacy. These early professional steps connected his legal training to a broader fight for equality and fairness under the law.
In 1977, Green was elected justice of the peace in Harris County, Texas, beginning a long career in local elected office. He held the position for twenty-seven years, serving until 2004 and gaining a reputation as a fair and accessible judge. His years on the Harris County bench gave him direct experience with the everyday legal concerns of working families, an experience that would inform his later priorities in Congress.
Al Green Career
Early Career (1977–2004)
Al Green’s political career began in 1977 when he was elected justice of the peace in Harris County, Texas, a position he held for nearly three decades. During this period, he balanced his judicial duties with his private law practice and his civil rights work through the Houston NAACP. His long tenure gave him a deep understanding of the local legal system and the challenges facing minority communities in the Houston area.
By the early 2000s, Green was ready for a new challenge. Following court-ordered redistricting that created an opportunity in Texas’s 9th congressional district, he entered the 2004 Democratic primary and defeated incumbent U.S. Representative Chris Bell by thirty-five percentage points. He then won the general election, beginning a run of consecutive victories in the House that has lasted more than two decades.
Congressional Career and Financial Services Focus (2005–Present)
Since taking office in 2005, Al Green has represented Texas’s 9th congressional district and built a reputation as a forceful advocate for economic fairness. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where he has supported the Federal Reserve’s program of quantitative easing and argued that it helped drive recovery after the 2008 financial crisis. He has also championed the auto industry bailout of 2009, describing it as a measure to protect American workers rather than corporate interests.
Green has used his position on the committee to press Wall Street leaders on diversity and historical accountability. During a 2019 hearing, he questioned the chief executives of major U.S. banks about their institutions’ lack of racial and gender diversity, and asked J. P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon whether the bank had directly benefited from slavery, a question Dimon acknowledged. Green has also prioritized fair housing and fair hiring practices for low-income Americans and minorities throughout his time in Congress.
Impeachment Efforts and Public Protests (2017–Present)
Al Green has been one of the most persistent voices in Congress calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. On May 17, 2017, he introduced articles of impeachment citing Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, and he reintroduced them in July 2019 after Trump’s attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color. The 2019 resolution was tabled by the House in a 332–95 vote, with ninety-five Democrats, about forty percent of the caucus, voting in favor.
Green continued his impeachment campaign during Trump’s second term, introducing new articles in March 2025 over conflicts with the judicial branch, in June 2025 over the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and in November 2025 over allegations of abuse of power, with the December 2025 resolution being defeated. His protests have also drawn national attention, including standing and shouting during Trump’s March 2025 address to a joint session of Congress, an action that led to a formal House censure of Green by a 224–198–2 vote, and the display of a sign during Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address, after which he was escorted from the chamber.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the defining moments of Al Green’s career came on March 4, 2025, when he rose during a presidential address, pointed his cane at the dais, and shouted that Trump had no mandate to cut Medicaid. The following day, the House voted to censure him, the first such formal rebuke of his career, and he and several Democratic colleagues responded by singing the civil rights anthem We Shall Overcome on the House floor. In 2026, he again made national headlines when he held up a sign reading, Black people aren’t apes! during the State of the Union, calling his action, in the tradition of civil rights leader John Lewis, good trouble.
Al Green Family
Personal Life
Al Green is a Baptist Christian, and his faith has been a steady presence throughout his public service. He is divorced. Beyond these details, Green is known for keeping his personal life largely private while continuing to devote his career to issues of fairness, equity, and justice for the constituents of Texas’s 9th congressional district.