Politics is never free from danger. But no one can understand how this could’ve happened.
And Congress is in chaos after being forced into an alarming evacuation.
Members of Congress should be able to do their job uninterrupted – even then it takes them forever!
Everyone knows there are some delaying tactics baked into the cake, like the famous filibusters of history.
But something that should never happen is a politician putting the entire Capitol into an evacuation because they want to delay a vote.
Apparently, even that is too much to ask of the Democrat Party.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who is a former school principal, pulled the fire alarm in the House Cannon office building as House Democrats were trying to delay a vote on a GOP stopgap spending bill, which sparked an evacuation of the building.
This brazen act of obstruction not only delayed Congress from doing it’s job, it also wasted emergency resources and induced a panic.
His reason was obvious, but that didn’t stop Bowman from trying to play stupid.
On Saturday night, he issued a new statement explaining why he allegedly decided to pull a fire alarm earlier in the day, prompting an investigation and calls for him to be criminally charged and expelled from Congress.
“I want to personally clear up confusion surrounding today’s events,” Bowman said in a statement.
“Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open. I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused.”
“But I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote,” he claimed.
“It was the exact opposite – I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open. I also met after the vote with the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police, at their request, and explained what had happened. My hope is that no one will make more of this than it was. I am working hard every day, including today, to do my job, to do it well, and deliver for my constituents.”
Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan shared a photo of the door where Bowman pulled the fire alarm, revealing a red sign that reads “EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY” at the time Bowman pulled the lever.
An additional photograph revealed that the fire alarm was the only thing mounted on the wall that could be activated without the use of a maintenance key.
This doesn’t really seem that confusing pic.twitter.com/EXM5VOWJAp
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) September 30, 2023
Despite there being no actual good reason for Bowman’s actions, it didn’t deter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from defending him.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defends fellow Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulling the fire alarm to delay a House vote, saying people shouldn't judge "before there has even been conversations that are finished to even see if there was a misunderstanding here" pic.twitter.com/FOYlPV6L64
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 1, 2023
You know when even CNN’s Jake Tapper doesn’t buy it, you’re in trouble as a Democrat.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
