Wise-Compare.com: Empowering Wise Decisions.

Furious Republicans are calling for the Democrat who pulled fire alarm during crucial shutdown vote to expelled and prosecuted like a January 6 rioter. 

New York representative Jamaal Bowman was allegedly caught on camera pulling the alarm in the Cannon Building, which houses numerous Congressional office spaces, as lawmakers scrambled to pass a plan to keep the government funded before it ran out of money on Saturday at midnight.

The move has sparked a incensed reaction from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene who is now calling for Bowman to be prosecuted. 

Taking on X, formerly known as Twitter, the congresswoman wrote: ‘Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled the fire alarm in the Cannon building this afternoon and interrupted the official proceedings of the House as Republicans worked to keep the government open.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is now calling for Bowman to be prosecuted

She claims Bowman has violated the same law that January 6th defendants are being prosecuted for

Democrat Rep. Jamal Bowman says claims he purposefully pulled a fire alarm to disrupt House Republicans as they debated a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown are ‘BS.’

BREAKING: Rep. Jamaal Bowman just released a statement in which he claims that a door marked “emergency exit” is one he usually takes to get to votes and says he thought pushing the big red box that said “FIRE” would open it. pic.twitter.com/K1JuNkJ75R

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 1, 2023

‘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. 

‘The Democrats literally will do anything to shut OUR government down because billions aren’t going to their favorite country: Ukraine.’

Speaking to media on the Capitol steps, an infuriated Greene added: ‘I want to talk about Jamal Bowman pulling the fire alarm. Capitol police are questioning him right now because it’s on video, he violated the exact same law that January 6th defendants are being prosecuted for every single day.

‘He violated the exact same law, interrupting an official proceeding by pulling a fire alarm, it’s on video and the Capitol police have the information. This is outrageous.’

She said she was yet to watch the video but is demanding the Department of Justice ‘prosecute him the same way they are prosecuted January 6th defendants’. 

‘It’s the exact same law. He’s a democratic representative. Here’s what happened, Katherine Clark, the whip, called the motion to adjourn and within a few minutes, it was literally after that, Jamal Bowman pulls a fire alarm 

‘This is unprecedented. The democrats will do anything to make sure it’s shut down because billions of dollars are not going to their favorite country – Ukraine.’ 

But Bowman says claims he purposefully pulled a fire alarm to disrupt House Republicans as they debated a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown are ‘BS.’

In a statement he wrote: ‘I want to personally clear up confusion surrounding today’s events. 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.’

The New York representative was allegedly caught on camera pulling the stunt in the Cannon Building, which houses numerous Congressional office spaces, as lawmakers scrambled to pass a plan to keep the government funded before it ran out of money on Saturday at midnight 

He was adamant that the move had nothing to do with delaying the vote.

‘I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay the vote,’ he continued.

‘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.’ 

Bowman said he hopes ‘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.’  

With the Republicans in disarray, Bowman quickly became the center of a firestorm over what he insists was a simple mistake that he thought would ‘open a door’.

The former school principal, who would have conducted dozens of fire drills during his career, is facing a Republican threat of expulsion and an investigation by the Capitol Police.

‘I thought the alarm would open the door,’ Bowman told reporters about the incident.

‘I was rushing to make a vote, I was trying to get to a door.’

‘[Bowman] pulled a fire alarm in Cannon this morning,’ a spokesperson for the Congressional Administration Committee said. ‘An investigation into why it was pulled is underway.’

Capitol Police spokesperson Paul Starks said: ‘An investigation into what happened and why continues.’ 

The last-minute deal followed chaotic scenes in the House where Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for massive spending cuts and had to rely on Democrats to pass a package without funding for Ukraine. 

Bowman called the notion that he pulled the fire alarm to delay a vote ‘complete BS.’

The incident that unfolded during chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill on Saturday as the deadline loomed to avert what seemed like an inevitable shutdown.

Fellow New Yorker, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis has drafted a resolution to expel Bowman from Congress, Axios reports. 

The offices of Reps. Harriet Hageman and Lisa McClain have advised both are working on measures to ‘censure Bowman’, the outlet reported. 

It would need a two-thirds vote, meaning democrats would have to be prepared to turn on one of their own. 

House Speaker McCarthy said he thinks the House Ethics Committee should investigate Bowman. 

The U.S. avoided a government shutdown after the Senate secured enough votes to pass a bill to keep the government funded for 45 days just hours before Saturday’s midnight deadline.

The deal sailed through the Senate 88 to 9, hours after it made it through the House and after a shutdown seemed inevitable on Saturday morning.

‘The American people can breathe a sigh of relief. There will be no government shutdown,’ Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Meanwhile, Speaker Kevin McCarthy dared his conservative critics to try to oust him as they have long threatened in a press conference after the vote.

‘If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it,’ the speaker said. ‘There has to be an adult in the room.’

It is feared the government shutdown could drag on for weeks

The House managed to pass a short-term solution to keep the government funded for 45 days without additional funding for Ukraine, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy turning to Democrats to help him push it through

He also said there should be an Ethics Committee investigation into Bowman’s actions.

‘I’m going to have a discussion with the Democratic Leader about it, but this should not go without punishment.’

Republicans, led by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, N.Y., are now working on a resolution to expel Bowman from Congress, and Capitol Police were circulating a photo of what appeared to be Bowman pulling the alarm.

Bowman’s antics led to an evacuation of the building, which came as House representatives were readying to vote on a bill that would avert a government shutdown less than 12 hours before a deadline.

The bill passed in a 335-91 vote, and now heads to the Senate. It will keep the government funded for 45 days.

Before the bill’s passing Democrats had been trying to delay the vote to give them time to read the text and make sure they could support it.

Ninety Republicans against the continuing resolution (CR) that extends government funding at 2023 levels beyond the midnight deadline. Only one Democrat – Rep. Mike Quigley, Ill., opposed it. He wanted it to include Ukraine funding.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has long said that if McCarthy cut a deal with Democrats to get a CR across the floor he would launch a movement to oust him immediately.

Gaetz moved to speak on the House floor Saturday after the vote but the House adjourned until Monday – ensuring that any plan to bring forward a motion to vacate the speakership will have to wait until then.

The stopgap funding bill’s passage came after concerns it could be held up by party infighting, and comes as a relief as the potential shutdown could have jeopardized the livelihoods of millions of Americans.

The passage today saw officials hash out 45 day continuing resolution deal which would supply disaster relief funds, an extension of the federal flood insurance program and FAA reauthorization.

It remains uncertain whether the bill will survive as it heads to the Senate, where a procedural vote has yet to be scheduled. The government will officially shut down at midnight if lawmakers cannot land a deal.

Republicans had spent up until almost the last minute trying to pass a party-line CR that included steep funding cuts and border security provisions. But with 21 Republicans opposed to that plan as of Friday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy finally had enough and agreed to put a clean funding extension on the floor that had Democratic support – and did not include conservative priorities.

He was always going to have to put a bipartisan deal on the floor at the end in order for it to pass the Senate, but a Republican-only deal would have been a messaging win on spending cuts and could have been a starting point for negotiations.

Republican firebrand Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters on Saturday that she wouldn’t approve policies funding the conflict in Ukraine, which she dubbed ‘America last’

The House Speaker has faced stern opposition from hardline Republican representatives including Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (pictured)

Friday’s failed vote was a brutal defeat for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has faced relentless criticism from the right of his party

McCarthy urged his colleagues to pass his stopgap bill to keep government open while we finish our job.’ President Biden has readied his cabinet to convene next week to grapple with the effects of a shutdown 

Democrats celebrated the deal as a win – since it did not include the priorities Republicans had been pushing for

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X: ‘Here’s what went down: we just won a clean 45 day gov extension, stripped GOP’s earlier 30 percent cuts to Social Security admin etc, staved off last minute anti-immigrant hijinks, and averted shutdown (for now). People will get paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win.’

Much of the dispute has been focused on Biden’s aggressive funding of the conflict in Ukraine, with firebrand Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene slamming the bill she voted no on ‘America last’ on Saturday.

The stopgap bill crucially did not include any aid to Ukraine.

Before the vote, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said Republican opposition to Ukraine war funding was a ‘huge problem’.

‘Kevin McCarthy and the Republican conference have proven time and time again that they don’t care about the freedom of the Ukrainian people, and they turn their backs on them time and time again,’ Aguilar said. ‘And his anti-Ukraine, pro-Putin caucus is pretty strong.’

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

Content source – www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *