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WASHINGTON, DC-In the political version of holding your breath until you turn blue, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), in an attempt to delay a vote on a bipartisan spending bill to avert a government shutdown, pulled a fire alarm in the House office building Saturday, forcing an evacuation of the facility, the New York Post reports.
Bowman, a male member of the so-called “Squad,” was caught on camera pulling the alarm in the Cannon Building, with his identity being confirmed by numerous witnesses.
“An investigation into why it was pulled is underway,” a spokesman for the Republican-controlled Administration Committee told the Post, confirming the incident had occurred.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Bowman called the incident “a mistake.”
“Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote,” said Emma Simon, Bowman’s spokeswoman.
“The congressman regrets any confusion,” she continued.
For Bowman, he gave the equivalent of “the dog ate my homework” as an excuse:
“I was just trying to get my vote,” Bowman said. “The door that’s usually open wasn’t open. And you know, I didn’t mean to cause confusion…I didn’t know I was going to trip the whole building. I thought it would help me open the door.”
In what has to be the lamest excuse imaginable, Bowman told reporters he pulled the alarm handle…which is clearly identified as a fire alarm pull handle…because he thought it would open the door. And we trust people like this with our tax dollars and national security. In fairness to Bowman, he’s only been in the House for two years and wears glasses, so perhaps his eyeglass prescription needs to be updated.
Bowman’s excuse did not sit well with Republicans, with Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ (R-NY) office telling the Post she would seek to have Bowman expelled from the House chamber.
“NY Democrat Jamaal Bowman literally pulled a fire alarm to stall and prevent our efforts to force a vote to keep the federal government open. Pathetic. Criminal investigation needs to happen,” said New York Rep Nick Langworthy (R-NY) in a post on “X.”
Under District of Columbia law, creating a false alarm is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
Ironically, Bowman himself stated a couple of months ago that “No one in this country is above the law.” Of course, he was speaking of former President Donald Trump. As we’ve seen over the past couple of years, Democrats (with the timely exception of Sen. Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey) are held to a much lower standard than Republicans where the law is concerned.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) promised to have a “discussion” with House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) about the situation.
“But this should not go without punishment,” McCarthy told reporters at a press conference. “This is an embarrassment.”
He continued that he would seek a probe of Bowman’s conduct by the House Ethics Committee.
Meanwhile, Malliotakis lit Bowman up in a tweet on “X”:
“This is the United States Congress, not a New York City high school. To pull the fire alarm to disrupt proceedings when we are trying to draft legislation to AVERT A SHUTDOWN is pathetic…even for members of the socialist squad.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told Fox News the situation was “absolutely outrageous” and “potentially criminal.”
“That any member of Congress would think it’s appropriate to pull a fire alarm to try and delay Congress from doing its business is shameful,” Lawler said. “It’s unbecoming. And he should strongly consider resigning from Congress if he did that.”
Not to be outdone, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) slammed Bowman, an admitted socialist, for disrupting Congress while demanding the Department of Justice prosecute him for obstruction of an official proceeding—the same charge that was levied against many participants in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol siege.
“The Democrats literally will do anything to shut OUR government down because billions aren’t going to their favorite country, Ukraine,” Green wrote on “X.”
US Capitol Police confirmed the fire alarm was pulled at the Cannon Building just after noon, noting the building was evacuated until it was determined there wasn’t a threat.
The incident happened just as Republicans were voting on a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown, Fox News reported.
WASHINGTON, DC-In the political version of holding your breath until you turn blue, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), in an attempt to delay a vote on a bipartisan spending bill to avert a government shutdown, pulled a fire alarm in the House office building Saturday, forcing an evacuation of the facility, the New York Post reports.
Bowman, a male member of the so-called “Squad,” was caught on camera pulling the alarm in the Cannon Building, with his identity being confirmed by numerous witnesses.
“An investigation into why it was pulled is underway,” a spokesman for the Republican-controlled Administration Committee told the Post, confirming the incident had occurred.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Bowman called the incident “a mistake.”
“Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote,” said Emma Simon, Bowman’s spokeswoman.
“The congressman regrets any confusion,” she continued.
For Bowman, he gave the equivalent of “the dog ate my homework” as an excuse:
“I was just trying to get my vote,” Bowman said. “The door that’s usually open wasn’t open. And you know, I didn’t mean to cause confusion…I didn’t know I was going to trip the whole building. I thought it would help me open the door.”
In what has to be the lamest excuse imaginable, Bowman told reporters he pulled the alarm handle…which is clearly identified as a fire alarm pull handle…because he thought it would open the door. And we trust people like this with our tax dollars and national security. In fairness to Bowman, he’s only been in the House for two years and wears glasses, so perhaps his eyeglass prescription needs to be updated.
Bowman’s excuse did not sit well with Republicans, with Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ (R-NY) office telling the Post she would seek to have Bowman expelled from the House chamber.
“NY Democrat Jamaal Bowman literally pulled a fire alarm to stall and prevent our efforts to force a vote to keep the federal government open. Pathetic. Criminal investigation needs to happen,” said New York Rep Nick Langworthy (R-NY) in a post on “X.”
Under District of Columbia law, creating a false alarm is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
Ironically, Bowman himself stated a couple of months ago that “No one in this country is above the law.” Of course, he was speaking of former President Donald Trump. As we’ve seen over the past couple of years, Democrats (with the timely exception of Sen. Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey) are held to a much lower standard than Republicans where the law is concerned.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) promised to have a “discussion” with House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) about the situation.
“But this should not go without punishment,” McCarthy told reporters at a press conference. “This is an embarrassment.”
He continued that he would seek a probe of Bowman’s conduct by the House Ethics Committee.
Meanwhile, Malliotakis lit Bowman up in a tweet on “X”:
“This is the United States Congress, not a New York City high school. To pull the fire alarm to disrupt proceedings when we are trying to draft legislation to AVERT A SHUTDOWN is pathetic…even for members of the socialist squad.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told Fox News the situation was “absolutely outrageous” and “potentially criminal.”
“That any member of Congress would think it’s appropriate to pull a fire alarm to try and delay Congress from doing its business is shameful,” Lawler said. “It’s unbecoming. And he should strongly consider resigning from Congress if he did that.”
Not to be outdone, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) slammed Bowman, an admitted socialist, for disrupting Congress while demanding the Department of Justice prosecute him for obstruction of an official proceeding—the same charge that was levied against many participants in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol siege.
“The Democrats literally will do anything to shut OUR government down because billions aren’t going to their favorite country, Ukraine,” Green wrote on “X.”
US Capitol Police confirmed the fire alarm was pulled at the Cannon Building just after noon, noting the building was evacuated until it was determined there wasn’t a threat.
The incident happened just as Republicans were voting on a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown, Fox News reported.
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Comments
2023-10-01T14:29-0500 | Comment by: Susan
Isn't that the same a yelling fire, or if he's too stupid to know the difference between a fire alarm and an automatic door opener he sure as hell shouldn't be where he is.