WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman acknowledged triggering a fire alarm Saturday in one of the U.S. Capitol office buildings as lawmakers scrambled to pass a bill to fund the government before the midnight shutdown deadline.
The fire alarm sounded out around noon in the Cannon House Office Building and prompted a building-wide evacuation at a time when the House was in session and staffers were working in the building.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., listens to fellow speakers before President Biden speaks on the debt limit during an event at SUNY Westchester Community College, on Wednesday, May 10, in Valhalla, N.Y. John Minchillo/Associated Press file
The GOP-controlled House Administration Committee, which oversees issues about the Capitol complex, posted a picture of a person pulling the fire alarm who appeared to be Bowman. The committee posted the picture on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, and said the incident was under investigation.
A spokesperson for the New York lawmaker said in a statement to the Associated Press that the lawmaker did not intend to trigger a building-wide alarm as he was rushing to make it to the House floor.
“The Congressman regrets any confusion,” the statement continued. Later, Bowman told reporters that he was trying to get through a door that is usually open, but was closed due to it being a weekend.
“I thought it would help me open the door,” he said about pulling the trigger, denying that it was an effort to stall anything.
At the time of the evacuation, House Democrats were working to delay a vote on a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open. They said they needed time to review the 71-page bill that Republicans abruptly released to avoid a shutdown.
The funding package was ultimately approved 335-91 on Saturday afternoon, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats – including Bowman – supporting the bill.
After the vote, Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, criticized Bowman over the fire alarm. Some lawmakers even floated the idea of drafting a motion to expel or censure him from the House.
“This should not go without punishment,” McCarthy told reporters. “This is an embarrassment.”
He added that he plans to talk with the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York to figure out a possible response.
But Jeffries met with Bowman shortly after the vote and Bowman said his fellow New York colleague was “supportive.”
“He understood that it was a mistake and that’s all it was,” he said. Bowman added that the reaction from McCarthy and other Republicans is dishonest.
“(McCarthy’s) trying to weaponize a mistake of me coming, rushing to get to a vote as something nefarious when it wasn’t,” he said.
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