A dozen House Republicans voted against a resolution to award Congressional Gold Medals to recognize the Capitol Police, the D.C. police in honor of those who protected the Capitol when it was attacked on Jan. 6, the Washington Post reported late Wednesday.
The GOP lawmakers, who said they objected to the use of the term “insurrectionists” in the resolution, include: Andy Biggs (AZ), Thomas Massie (KY), Andy Harris (MD), Lance Gooden (TX), Matt Gaetz (FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Louie Gohmert (TX), Michael Cloud (TX), Andrew S. Clyde (GA), Greg Steube (FL.), Bob Good (VA) and John Rose (TN).
Nearly all of the House Republicans who voted against awarding the medals on Wednesday had also voted to object to certifying electoral votes for Biden in some states amid the riot. Massie was the one exception.
“We had to combine it with these editorial comments about the January 6 sequence of events, and then we had to logroll it with this exhibit at the Smithsonian,” Gaetz said after the vote. “That was a little much for me.”
A copy of the resolution, which passed 413 to 12, stated: “On January 6, 2021, a mob of insurrectionists forced its way into the U.S. Capitol building and congressional office buildings and engaged in acts of vandalism, looting, and violently attacked Capitol Police officers.”
It also says: “The desecration of the U.S. Capitol, which is the temple of our American Democracy, and the violence targeting Congress are horrors that will forever stain our Nation’s history.”
Biggs claimed in a video posted to Twitter that the resolution honoring the efforts of those who protected the Capitol and risked their own lives to guard lawmakers and staffers who hid under desks and barricaded themselves in offices against the pro-Trump mob said the bill “covers for the Democrats.”
“I will never forsake the police,” he claimed.
Harris, who vehemently defended a charade of conspiracies that supported Trump’s claims that the election had been stolen from him, released a statement saying he wouldn’t support the bill because of the “partisan charged language” it contained.
“The men and women on the thin blue line, including the brave men and women of the United States Capitol Police, should never be used as props for politically charged publicity stunts like this bill,” Harris said. “I truly commend the Capitol Police for their actions on January 6th, and am very grateful for their service in keeping us safe each day. But I cannot support partisan charged language found in this bill.”
A copy of al alternate resolution put forward by Gohmert and obtained by Politico mourned the loss of three police officers who died in the aftermath of Jan. 6, while omitting any mention of the Capitol attack.
Gohmert’s resolution which provided shelter for opponents of the measure that awarded the medals said: “Most recently, we mourn the losses of Capitol Police Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, and Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who all passed in January 2021.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) issued a statement accusing House Republicans who opposed the resolution to award the medals of attempting “to erase the events of January 6 and deny the responsibility of a far-right, insurrectionist mob incited by former President Trump.”
“The alternative resolution they have proposed insults the memory of the officer who was killed defending the Capitol and the two others who died as a result of the attack in its immediate aftermath, using language implying that the three officers did not lose their lives in the line of duty,” Hoyer said. “Such disrespect for the heroes who courageously tried to protect the American people’s Capitol is disgusting.”
