The past week has been tumultuous to say the least for Congress, as the looming government shutdown continued to draw near with no resolution in sight. Now that the shutdown has been avoided, Republicans are pushing for the removal of New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman after he was caught pulling the fire alarm prior to a vote to continue government funding.
House Speaker and California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy was among the most furious, comparing what Rep. Bowman did to the January 6 rioters at the Capitol building and calling it an “embarrassment”.
BREAKING: Democrat Representative Jamaal Bowman allegedly committed a felony by pulling a fire alarm to delay the congressional vote to fund the government.
Bowman was reportedly caught on camera pulling the fire alarm which is in violation of 1512(c)(2) “obstruction of an… pic.twitter.com/De8JcfvZdv
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 30, 2023
Fellow New York congresswoman, Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, has authored a resolution to have him removed after some GOP members accused him of pulling the alarm to delay the vote; something that Bowman has denied.
The incident occurred when Democrats wanted to delay the vote on government funding and put off its passage until later in the day, while Bowman apparently tried to leave through a doorway which had been closed at that time – leading him to pull an emergency fire alarm in order to open it up again.
His fellow Republicans were not convinced by his explanation however, with House Administration Committee Chairman and Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil telling CNN that there needed to be “far more forthcoming” answers from Bowman about why he had taken such drastic action – going so far as saying that if it was done deliberately then it would be considered ‘a serious violation of law’.
Georgia Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene also called for legal action against Bowmam, posting on Twitter: “Democrat Rep Jamaal Bowman pulled the fire alarm in the Cannon Building this afternoon and interrupted official proceedings of the House as Republicans worked to keep the government open. I’m calling on the DOJ to prosecute him using the same law they used to prosecute J6 defendants for interfering with an official proceeding.”
This statement is referencing those charged with interfering with proceedings during last year’s Capitol Hill attack back in January 2021 – prompting further outrage amongst her right-wing colleagues who felt that such comparisons were inappropriate given how serious of an event that was in comparison with this situation today.
