WASHINGTON – Several Republican lawmakers complained about – or directly bypassed – the metal detectors to enter the house floor on Tuesday, which were ordered to be put in place by House President Nancy Pelosi, D-California, after the deadly riot at the Capitol last week.
Before a vote in the House Tuesday night asking Vice President Mike Pence to call for the 25th amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office, Republican members expressed anger and frustration over access to the chamber.
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, including Steve Stivers of Ohio, Van Taylor of Texas, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Debbie Lesko of Arizona and Larry Bucshon of Indiana, saw that they did not obey police at the checkpoints, or that they complained the implementation, according to press pool and media reports.
Boebert, a newly elected member who promised in a viral video to carry a gun in the Capitol, was seen in an apparent dispute with police over the metal detector.
“I may legally carry my firearm in Washington, DC and inside the Capitol complex,” she tweeted. “Metal detectors outside the house would not have stopped the violence we saw last week. It’s just another political stunt by the speaker, Pelosi.”
However, members were told: ‘firearms are restricted to a member’s office.’
According to Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va, refused Taylor to go through the metal detector and argued with officers about it.
Rep. Rodney Davis of R-Ill.
‘The threat is not on the inside of the building. You take valuable resources completely away from where they need to be. And you did it without any consultation with the minority. ” Davis told Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Outside the Room. ‘Bulls —-.’
The new measure apparently caused tension between some members and the police. GOP representative Rodney Davis of Illinois spread a dispute between a member and the police while talking to reporters at the Capitol.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., Who survived a shooting during a 2017 baseball game, told reporters the extra layer of security was not necessary and criticized Pelosi for obstructing ‘members’ to vote, and said this change “never discussed” with IDP leadership.
Lesko, in a tweet, Pelosi blamed.
“For members of Congress to enter the floor of the US House, we must now undergo intensive security measures in addition to the security we are already going through,” she said. “These new provisions include searches and walking around like criminals. We now live in Pelosi’s communist America!”
Alex Moe and Haley Talbot report from Washington and Dartunorro Clark from New York.
