“It’s a real tension,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). It was one of about two dozen Democrats who burst into the room during the January 6 riots and later contracted coronavirus after spending hours in a safe room with Republicans refusing to wear masks. “I do not know if it is recoverable. This is certainly a huge gap that currently exists between a vast majority of the Republican caucus and all of us Democrats across the ideological spectrum. ”
The friction is particularly intense in the House, where two-thirds of the IDP conference voted to block the election, just hours after lawmakers were attacked by a crowd demanding action. The position of the 139 members now threatens to strengthen decades of relationships in the House, forcing longtime colleagues to work through the raw emotions and palpable anger in the weeks since the attack.
“I really struggled with that,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) Added, who was also in the room when rioters broke into the building. ‘I’m currently struggling with the members, especially with those with whom I had a closer relationship … I’m not going to deny the reality – that I’m looking at them differently now. They are now smaller people to me. ‘
Multiple Democrats have said they are privately considering severing ties with Republicans as their caucus weighs potential forms of punishment – especially for unnamed members who, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are “helping and comforting” the rebels. gave.
Some Democrats, especially moderates, argue that their party has no choice but to continue. Several said they had taken their IDP colleagues in the private order for the desertification vote, confronting them about their position in private calls or a half-joke, explicitly filled outbursts in the hallways, and insisting that they still willing to work with accounts.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Who did not ratify the election statement, said he stood by his position, although he was considering changing it after rioters stormed the Capitol with him and his staff. within. Cole was inside his office on the first floor of the building, where rioters knocked on the door and shouted his name.
Cole – the top Republican on the House Rules Committee who is in his tenth term – said several Democrats confronted him to ask him about his vote.
“A few of them had questions, and I sat down patiently and explained them to them,” Cole said. ‘It was a difficult call, I went back and forth whether I should do it or not. But the sentiment in my district was very strong. ”
But many Democrats say they remain hesitant about the 139 Republicans, saying it’s harder to continue amid ongoing security threats that continue to target members. Party leaders also tightened security in the room itself – widely regarded as an acknowledgment that some IDP members could still be threatened.
This tension did not just occur on January 6th. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California) said she expected a kind of flare-up after years of observing the rise of the far right. On the day of the vote, Lee – who had to escape from the Capitol in high heels on September 11, 2001 – decided to put on tennis shoes, in any case.
“I thought about it. I have not talked to any of them about it yet, because I am just furious, “said Lee, who sits on the Appropriations panel – a long time of duality – where 14 out of 26 Republicans voted to reject the result.
“You can not compartmentalize because you know it really is. “I do not know if they believe it is true, I do not know if they understand that Donald Trump, he opened Pandora’s box, ‘Lee said, adding that the behavior could not go unpunished and that she believes that more violence is ahead. “We need to do something.”
Unlike after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there was no moment of unity on Capitol Hill. Instead, the atmosphere is more charged.
“It is sad that we are no longer united, to ensure that we protect the institution,” said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Who called on an independent commission on September 11 to investigate the mob attack. five people killed. Davis did not vote to block the election.
In fact, a few hours after the riots, when lawmakers resumed the election certification process, were nearly beaten to death around 2 a.m., including Representative Andy Harris (R-Md.). on the house floor, with Harris furious that the Democrats accused him of being a liar. Rep. Colin Allred was among those to intervene and shout on the floor, “Are you serious, man? Didn’t you have enough violence for today?”
Rep. Dusty Johnson (RS.D.), a member of the dual Problem Solvers Caucus who does vote to ratify Biden’s election, said the episode was “shocking” to testify and shows how “tempers remain high.”
“The immediate aftermath of Jan. 6 has in some ways complicated the two-party effort,” Johnson said. ‘I’m hoping some anger and irritation will go away … Because if we are going to do good things for this country, it will be clear that Democrats and Republicans need to work together. ”
In another example of the increasing levels of toxicity, Jason Smith of Missouri, the leading Republican in the House Budget Committee, tweeted an email from a staff member for Representative Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) not to work with him.
Axne’s office later said it had continued with Republicans since Jan. 6, including those who did vote against the certification, although a spokeswoman said she remained “appalled” by congressmen who chose to confirm the falsities leading up to led to a violent uprising. ”
And on Friday, first-year representative Cori Bush (D-Mo.) Tweeted that controversial GOP representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and her staff had “advised” her in a hallway and that she now wanted to move her office from Greene “for my team’s safety. ”
Republicans are appealing to their Democratic counterparts to heed Biden’s calls for unity, arguing that demands to oust GOP lawmakers or blackball, coupled with Trump’s swift accusation, could poison the well for future two parties.
They point to pressure from Democrats to punish freshman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) For her previous offensive and offensive rhetoric, including a false conspiracy theory that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary massacre was a hoax.
But Democrats resist saying they can not just move on if they say Republicans have fueled Trump’s dangerous lies about the election and endangered their own lives. This includes the actions of GOP leaders: House Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries called GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy an ‘under-organized crime’.
Authorities are investigating whether any GOP lawmakers played a role in the uprising. While law enforcement officials did not disclose details about specific members, Democrats quickly pointed to members such as first-year member Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Who tweeted directly from the speaker’s home as rioters stormed the Capitol.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), who regularly faces a barrage of threats against her, fired Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz in a tweet after announcing that the two of them a congressional inquiry into GameStop’s recent stock trading.
“I’m glad to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s a common cause, but you had me killed almost 3 weeks ago so you could evict this one,” Ocasio-Cortez shot back at Cruz, who was a effort in the Senate led to challenge Biden’s victory.
Further complications are the possible security threat that still exists at the Capitol, which prompted the Democrats to introduce new security measures. – metal detectors outside the living room.
Republicans complained that Democrats targeted their own members, but Democrats said it was justified after the show came to light Republican Harris attempted to bring a weapon to the floor. They plan to pass a bill next week that would require Republicans who side with the metal detector to demand hefty fines, adding to the existing fines for GOP members who refuse to wear masks.
The tension is not just between members of opposing parties: infighting the GOP reached new heights as the party struggled with its direction in the post-Trump era, prompting McCarthy to plead with Republicans to stop tearing each other apart in public.
Many members of the GOP of the House have Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), The Republican no. 3, turned to her vote to accuse Trump. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), A top ally of Trump, has gone so far as to travel to Wyoming this week to fight her.
Of course, there were other hot moments in Congress, including three years ago when the fiercely divided Senate turned to bitterness over the confirmation of current Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Other members pointed out the civil rights movement of the 1960s. But for many, the atmosphere in Congress has never felt more toxic. And interpersonal relationships were already strained amid the pandemic, which changed the way lawmakers live on Capitol Hill and change legislation.
‘I think there have been more difficult times in the history of the republic? Yes. Cole said, referring to the civil unrest surrounding the Vietnam War and the assassinations of national leaders in the 1960s. But he added: “It’s pretty raw.”
Heather Caygle contributed to this report.