Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York claims that on Saturday afternoon, as elected officials were getting ready to vote on a budget bill to prevent a potential government shutdown, he unintentionally set off a fire alarm in a Congressional office building.
Republicans said Bowman was attempting to stall the vote and asked for his punishment, but the Democrat claimed in a statement that the event happened as he was racing to cast his ballot and came at a door that is typically open.
He responded, “I am ashamed to say that I accidentally set off the fire alarm, believing it would open the door. I regret this and apologize genuinely for any confusion this may have created.
Bowman made it clear that his goal was not to impede the House vote. It was the exact reverse; I was rushing to get to a vote, which I eventually did, and I worked with my colleagues to maintain our government’s openness.
The fire alarm went off as House Democrats hoped to postpone a vote on the 71-page stopgap budget plan put out by Republicans so they could have more time to examine the document, according to the Associated Press.
A budget package was ultimately adopted by both chambers on Saturday, and President Biden signed it just before the deadline of midnight, preventing a government shutdown.
Republican from California and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that Bowman intentionally set off the fire alarm to create a government shutdown and that the House Ethics Committee should investigate what transpired.
McCarthy also alluded to the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
When you consider how other people have been treated when they have attempted to enter this place and alter the course of events, McCarthy said.
New York-based Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Saturday that he hadn’t seen the footage of Bowman activating the fire alarm and that he “won’t have any further comment” until he did.
A fire alarm went off on the second level of the Cannon House Office Building on Saturday at 12:05 p.m., according to Paul Starks, a spokesperson for the United States Capitol Police. He continued that USCP officers started an evacuation and looked around the structure.
After it was confirmed that there was no threat, the building was reopened, according to Starks. “What happened and why is the subject of an ongoing investigation.”
Following the vote, Bowman claimed he visited with the Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms to discuss what happened.