Democrat congressman and “squad” member Jamaal Bowman has been torn by many opponents on the right over his attempted explanation for pulling the fire alarm at the Capitol building Saturday.
The incident, which was caught on camera and has since spread far and wide, has Capitol lawmakers and their staffs in panic as they semi-seriously tried to understand why Bowman would think a clearly marked fire alarm would open a door to open.
Bowman issued a statement claiming that while rushing to get there in time to vote for an emergency bill that would keep the government open, he “triggered the fire alarm, thinking that would open the door.”
While fellow left-wing New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jumped to Bowman’s defense on Sunday, Republicans were skeptical, with many noticing the huge warning signs on the alarm handle and on a nearby door.
“This is not confusing at all,” Justin Amash, a former anti-Trump Republican congressman, wrote on social media. ‘There’s a push bar on the door, under the sign. Members of Congress see these signs all the time and know exactly what they mean.”
Bowman issued a statement claiming that while rushing to get there in time to vote for an emergency bill that would keep the government open, he “triggered the fire alarm, thinking that would open the door.”
Amash responded to People’s Policy Project founder Matt Bruenig, who found the alarm sign confusing and believed Bowman felt like he had to pull the alarm to get outside, wondering, “What’s wrong I?’
Journalist Patrick Casey added: ‘Jamaal Bowman pulling the fire alarm because he is unable to read this extremely common and not at all confusing sign is a million times funnier than him pulling it to stop the mood, just unbelievable. ‘
Another X user noted, “His job is to read and vote on bills written in a thousand times more confusing ways.”
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene believes Bowman is lying about the apology.
“He knows exactly what pulling a fire alarm means,” Greene wrote. “He did it while Democrats were trying to buy time in the Senate and the Dem whip had just called for a motion to adjourn.”
Both Greene and former President Donald Trump have called for Bowman to be treated like the protesters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“His egregious act was captured on tape, an appalling display of courage and criminality. It was a very dangerous ‘obstruction of official proceedings,’ the same one used against our J-6 detainees,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
‘Actually, his act may have been worse. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN DOES HIS TRIAL BEGIN???’
Both Marjorie Taylor Greene and former President Donald Trump have called for Bowman to be treated like the protesters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Bowman is now under investigation following the incident, which unfolded amid chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill on Saturday as the deadline approached to prevent what appeared to be an inevitable shutdown.
The House of Representatives passed 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 pass it. It went to the Senate, where it would be voted on Saturday evening.
With Republicans in disarray, Bowman quickly became the center of a firestorm over what he said was a simple mistake that he thought would “open a door.”
The former school principal, who is said to have conducted dozens of fire drills during his career, is facing a Republican threat of expulsion and an investigation by Capitol Police.
“I thought the alarm was going to open the door,” Bowman told reporters about the incident.
“I was rushing to vote, trying to get to a door.”
“(Bowman) generated a fire alarm in Cannon this morning,” a spokesperson for the Congressional Administration Committee said. “An investigation is underway into why it was withdrawn.”
Bowman called the idea that he pulled the fire alarm to delay a vote “complete BS.”
Meanwhile, Speaker Kevin McCarthy challenged his conservative critics to try to oust him, as they long threatened during a press conference after the vote.
“If anyone wants to bring a motion against me, bring it,” the speaker said. “There must be an adult in the room.”
He also said there should be an Ethics Commission investigation into Bowman’s actions.
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 pass it.
“I’m going to have a conversation with the Democratic Leader about it, but that shouldn’t happen without punishment.”
Republicans, led by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., are now working on a resolution to expel Bowman from Congress, and Capitol Police circulated a photo of what appeared to be Bowman and raised the alarm.
Bowman’s antics led to an evacuation of the building, which occurred as representatives of the House of Representatives prepared to vote on a bill that would prevent a government shutdown less than twelve hours before a deadline.
The bill passed with a vote of 335 to 91 and now goes to the Senate. It will keep the government funded for 45 days.