Angry Republicans are demanding that the Democrat who pulled the fire alarm during the crucial shutdown vote be deported and prosecuted like a Jan. 6 rioter.
New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman was reportedly caught on camera sounding the alarm in the Cannon Building, home to numerous congressional office spaces, as lawmakers struggled to pass a plan to increase funding at midnight Saturday to maintain the government before it ran out of money.
The move sparked an outraged response from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is now calling for Bowman to be prosecuted.
On
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is now calling for Bowman to be prosecuted
She claims Bowman violated the same law under which the Jan. 6 defendants are being prosecuted
Democratic Rep. Jamal Bowman says claims he intentionally set off a fire alarm to disrupt House Republicans as they debated a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown are “nonsense.”
BREAKING: Rep. Jamaal Bowman just released a statement claiming that a door marked “emergency exit” is one he normally uses to get to votes and says he thought it would open , when you press the big red box labeled “FIRE”. pic.twitter.com/K1JuNkJ75R
– Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 1, 2023
“I call on the DOJ to prosecute him under the same law they used to charge J6 defendants with interference in an official proceeding.”
“Democrats will literally do anything to overthrow OUR government because billions are not going to their favorite country: Ukraine.”
Speaking to the media on the Capitol steps, an angry Greene added: “I want to talk about Jamal Bowman pulling the fire alarm.” Capitol police are questioning him because it appears on video that he violated the very same law for which the January 6 defendants are being prosecuted every day.
“He violated the exact same law by interrupting official proceedings by setting off a fire alarm. It’s on video and the Capitol Police have the information. ‘This is outrageous.’
She said she had not yet viewed the video but called on the Justice Department to “prosecute him in the same manner as the January 6 defendants.”
“It’s exactly the same law.” He’s a Democratic representative. Here’s what happened: Katherine Clark, the whip, made the motion to adjourn, and within minutes Jamal Bowman literally pulled a fire alarm
“This is unprecedented.” “The Democrats will do everything they can to get it shut down because billions of dollars aren’t going to their favorite country, Ukraine.”
But Bowman says claims that he intentionally set off a fire alarm to disrupt House Republicans as they debated a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown are “nonsense.”
In a statement, he wrote: “I personally want to clear up the confusion surrounding today’s events.” As I rushed to vote today, I came across a door that is normally open for voting but did not open today.
“I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm because I mistakenly thought it would open the door. “I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”
The New York representative was reportedly caught on camera performing the stunt in the Cannon Building, home to numerous congressional office spaces, as lawmakers scrambled to pass a plan to keep the government funded before she runs out of money at midnight on Saturday
He insisted that this move had nothing to do with delaying the vote.
“I want to be very clear that I did not attempt to delay the vote in any way,” he continued.
“Exactly the opposite was the case, I desperately tried to get to a vote, which I eventually did, joining my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open.”
“I also met with the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police after the vote, at their request, and explained what happened.”
Bowman said he hopes “nobody will make more of it than what it was.”
“I work hard every day, including today, to do my job well and deliver for my constituents.”
With Republicans in disarray, Bowman quickly found himself at the center of a firestorm over what he saw as a simple mistake that he believed would “open a door.”
The former school principal, who conducted dozens of fire drills throughout his career, is threatened by the Republican with expulsion and an investigation by the Capitol Police.
“I thought the alarm would open the door,” Bowman told reporters about the incident.
“I was in a rush to vote, I was trying to get to a door.”
‘[Bowman] “A fire alarm was sounded in Cannon this morning,” a spokesman for the Congressional Administration Committee said. “An investigation into why it was withdrawn is ongoing.”
Capitol Police spokesman Paul Starks said: “The investigation into what happened and why continues.”
The last-minute deal followed chaotic scenes in the House of Representatives, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped calls for massive spending cuts and had to rely on Democrats to pass a package without funding for Ukraine.
Bowman called the idea that he pulled the fire alarm to delay a vote “complete nonsense.”
The incident occurred during chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill on Saturday as the deadline to avert a seemingly inevitable shutdown approached.
Axios reports that fellow New Yorker Nicole Malliotakis has drafted a resolution to expel Bowman from Congress.
The offices of Reps. Harriet Hageman and Lisa McClain have said both are working on measures to “censure Bowman,” the outlet reported.
That would require a two-thirds majority, meaning Democrats would have to be willing to stand up to one of their own.
House Speaker McCarthy said he believes the House Ethics Committee should investigate Bowman.
The U.S. avoided a government shutdown after the Senate secured enough votes to pass a bill maintaining funding for the government for 45 days just hours before Saturday’s midnight deadline.
The deal passed the Senate by a vote of 88-9, hours after it passed the House and after a shutdown appeared inevitable Saturday morning.
“The American people can breathe a sigh of relief.” “There will be no government shutdown,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Meanwhile, Speaker Kevin McCarthy challenged his conservative critics to oust him, as they had long threatened to do in a press conference after the vote.
“If anyone wants to file a motion against me, bring it,” the spokesman said. “There has to be an adult in the room.”
It is feared that the government shutdown could drag on for weeks
The House managed to pass a short-term solution to keep the government funded for 45 days without additional funding for Ukraine, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy turning to Democrats to help push it through
He also said an ethics committee investigation into Bowman’s actions should occur.
“I will have a discussion with the Democratic leader about this, but this should not go unpunished.”
Republicans, led by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, are currently working on a resolution to expel Bowman from Congress, and Capitol Police distributed a photo of what appeared to be Bowman sounding the alarm.
Bowman’s antics led to an evacuation of the building, which occurred as House Republicans were poised to vote on a bill that would prevent a government shutdown with less than 12 hours before the deadline.
The bill passed by a vote of 335 to 91 and is now in the Senate. This means government funding is maintained for 45 days.
Before the bill passed, Democrats had tried to delay the vote to give them time to read the text and ensure they could support it.
Ninety Republicans oppose the continuing resolution (CR) that extends state funding past the midnight deadline to 2023 levels. Only one Democrat — Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois — opposed it. He wanted funding for Ukraine included.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has long said that if McCarthy negotiated a deal with Democrats to enact a CR, he would start a movement to oust him immediately.
Gaetz planned to speak on the House floor on Saturday after the vote, but the House adjourned the session until Monday – ensuring that any plan to table a motion to vacate the speaker’s post will have to wait until then.
The passage of the emergency funding bill came after concerns that it could be held up by party infighting and comes as a relief since the potential shutdown could have threatened the livelihoods of millions of Americans.
In today’s passage, officials negotiated a 45-day rolling resolution agreement that includes disaster relief funding, an extension of the federal flood insurance program and FAA reauthorization.
It remains uncertain whether the bill will stand when it goes to the Senate, where a procedural vote has yet to be scheduled. The government will officially shut down at midnight if lawmakers cannot reach an agreement.
Republicans had spent almost the last minute trying to pass an internal party CR that included drastic funding cuts and border security provisions. But with 21 Republicans opposed to that plan on Friday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy finally had enough and agreed to bring to the table a clean funding extension that had Democratic support — and didn’t include conservative priorities.
He would always have had to bring a bipartisan deal to the table in the end for it to pass the Senate, but a Republican-only deal would have been a measurable win in spending cuts and could have been a starting point for negotiations.
Republican firebrand Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters on Saturday that she would not approve measures to finance the conflict in Ukraine, which she called “America’s burden.”
The House speaker faced stiff opposition from Republican hardliners, including Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida (pictured).
Friday’s failed vote was a brutal defeat for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who faced relentless criticism from the right wing of his party
McCarthy urged his colleagues to pass his stopgap bill to keep the government open while we do our jobs.” President Biden has prepared his Cabinet to meet next week to deal with the impact of a shutdown
The Democrats celebrated the deal as a victory – because it did not contain the priorities demanded by the Republicans
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on (currently). People are getting paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win situation.’
Much of the dispute centered on Biden’s aggressive funding of the conflict in Ukraine. Fiery Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized the bill, which she voted no on Saturday on the “America last” issue.
Above all, the emergency solution draft did not provide for any help for Ukraine.
Before the vote, House Democratic leader Pete Aguilar said Republican opposition to Ukraine’s war funding was a “huge problem.”
“Kevin McCarthy and the Republican Conference have proven time and time again that they do not care about the freedom of the Ukrainian people and they continue to turn their backs on them,” Aguilar said. “And his anti-Ukraine, pro-Putin faction is pretty strong.”