House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Thursday in response to members’ security concerns that they’ll need supplemental protective measures since “the enemy is within the House of Representatives.”
When asked to clarify, she added that “we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress.”
While addressing members’ security concerns, Pelosi says that they’ll need additional protective measures when “the enemy is inside the House of Representatives.” pic.twitter.com/M6MkKPXOqM
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) January 28, 2021
Pelosi made the comments after a group of representatives wrote a letter to House leadership Thursday asking for beefed up security at their district offices and homes.
“While the U.S. Capitol is protected by the United States Capitol Police with the support of strong security measures, including vehicle barriers and metal detectors, most Members spend the majority of their time in their Congressional Districts where security is often sparse,” they wrote.
They cited an uptick in death threats and the easy accessibility of personal information online as rationale for wanting more protection.
Pelosi said during the press conference that she had actually already acted to address many of those concerns, taking responsibility for members not knowing how they could use their Member Representational Allowance (MRA) for security purposes.
While the letter was primarily about threats outside Congress itself, Pelosi proactively addressed a recently voiced Democratic fear of Republican colleagues, many of whom have been infuriated by new security measures in the House.
“Not only is the President of the United States inciting an insurrection, but he keeps fanning the flame and endangering the security of members of Congress to the point that they’re even concerned about members in the House of Representatives being a danger to them,” she said, presumably talking about former President Donald Trump.
A certain cadre of Republicans has been very vocal about not wanting to comply with the metal detectors set up at the entrance of the House floor after the Capitol insurrection, some of them circumventing the machines or refusing to be wanded.
One, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), reportedly tried to bring a gun onto the floor, a move which has sparked calls for investigation and his resignation.
Ever since the insurrection, Republicans have been tiptoeing around the growing contingent of their base who are calling for violence against Democratic officials. Most of them have refused to condemn the behavior that led to the attack, instead calling for “unity” and moving to turn the page on the episode.
The party’s strained position was thrown into starker relief Wednesday, after CNN dug up old social media posts of Rep. Marjorie Greene’s (R-GA), where she openly encouraged calls for violence against Democratic officials.
Greene has not yet been punished.
