SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. Capitol officials are seen removing metal detectors from in front of the House chamber on January 3, 2023.
(Photo: Tom LoBianco/Twitter)
As GOP Takes Over House, Officials Remove Metal Detectors Installed After Jan. 6
One reporter called the step "the first sign of the new GOP majority."
Jan 03, 2023
As Republicans on Tuesday prepared to formally assume the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and vote on the next speaker amid growing party turmoil, video footage posted to social media showed officials removing metal detectors that were put in place following the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Just after noon, Rep. Ayanna Pressley's (D-Mass.) chief of staff posted a short clip showing workers carrying a metal detector into a Capitol elevator.
\u201c12 noon sharp and Republicans just had the metal detectors removed from the House floor #118thCongress\u201d— Sarah Groh (@Sarah Groh) 1672766123
CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju called the move "the first sign of the new GOP majority."
The metal detectors, put in place just outside of the House chamber as an extra security measure amid concerns about Republicans' ties to the January 6 attackers, were vocally opposed by GOP lawmakers, some of whom made a show of dodging them.
"Guns and other weapons were already banned from the chamber," The Washington Post noted Tuesday. "Some Democrats were already anxious about the potential for guns on the House floor after Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) campaigned promising to remain armed as she worked on Capitol Hill. And former congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) told a local paper after the attack that he had been armed when protesters stormed the Capitol."
In a video posted to Twitter, Boebert celebrated the removal of the magnetometers:
\u201cWe\u2019re turning Pelosi\u2019s House back into the People\u2019s House.\u201d— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@Rep. Lauren Boebert) 1672766318
The removal of the metal detectors came shortly before Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed to win a majority of House votes on the first ballot for speaker as 19 GOP members opposed him, sending the voting to a second round.
In a rules package unveiled earlier this week, House Republicans propose eliminating "fines for failure of members to comply" with security screenings before reaching the chamber floor.
House members have yet to vote on the proposed rules.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As Republicans on Tuesday prepared to formally assume the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and vote on the next speaker amid growing party turmoil, video footage posted to social media showed officials removing metal detectors that were put in place following the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Just after noon, Rep. Ayanna Pressley's (D-Mass.) chief of staff posted a short clip showing workers carrying a metal detector into a Capitol elevator.
\u201c12 noon sharp and Republicans just had the metal detectors removed from the House floor #118thCongress\u201d— Sarah Groh (@Sarah Groh) 1672766123
CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju called the move "the first sign of the new GOP majority."
The metal detectors, put in place just outside of the House chamber as an extra security measure amid concerns about Republicans' ties to the January 6 attackers, were vocally opposed by GOP lawmakers, some of whom made a show of dodging them.
"Guns and other weapons were already banned from the chamber," The Washington Post noted Tuesday. "Some Democrats were already anxious about the potential for guns on the House floor after Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) campaigned promising to remain armed as she worked on Capitol Hill. And former congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) told a local paper after the attack that he had been armed when protesters stormed the Capitol."
In a video posted to Twitter, Boebert celebrated the removal of the magnetometers:
\u201cWe\u2019re turning Pelosi\u2019s House back into the People\u2019s House.\u201d— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@Rep. Lauren Boebert) 1672766318
The removal of the metal detectors came shortly before Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed to win a majority of House votes on the first ballot for speaker as 19 GOP members opposed him, sending the voting to a second round.
In a rules package unveiled earlier this week, House Republicans propose eliminating "fines for failure of members to comply" with security screenings before reaching the chamber floor.
House members have yet to vote on the proposed rules.
From Your Site Articles
- Any Lawmaker Involved in Planning Jan. 6 Insurrection 'Must Be Expelled,' Says AOC ›
- 'Co-Conspirators in Sedition': Here Are the Names of Every Republican Who Voted to Overturn Election Results ›
- 'This Must Be Stopped': House Republicans Plan to Gut Ethics Office ›
- US House Adjourns—Again—After 11 Failed Votes to Select a Speaker ›
- Two Years After Jan. 6, Omar Says 'Imagine If This Was to Happen Under Republican Control' ›
- House GOP 'Insurrection Protection Committee Is a Sham,' Says Pressley ›
Related Articles Around the Web
As Republicans on Tuesday prepared to formally assume the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and vote on the next speaker amid growing party turmoil, video footage posted to social media showed officials removing metal detectors that were put in place following the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Just after noon, Rep. Ayanna Pressley's (D-Mass.) chief of staff posted a short clip showing workers carrying a metal detector into a Capitol elevator.
\u201c12 noon sharp and Republicans just had the metal detectors removed from the House floor #118thCongress\u201d— Sarah Groh (@Sarah Groh) 1672766123
CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju called the move "the first sign of the new GOP majority."
The metal detectors, put in place just outside of the House chamber as an extra security measure amid concerns about Republicans' ties to the January 6 attackers, were vocally opposed by GOP lawmakers, some of whom made a show of dodging them.
"Guns and other weapons were already banned from the chamber," The Washington Post noted Tuesday. "Some Democrats were already anxious about the potential for guns on the House floor after Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) campaigned promising to remain armed as she worked on Capitol Hill. And former congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) told a local paper after the attack that he had been armed when protesters stormed the Capitol."
In a video posted to Twitter, Boebert celebrated the removal of the magnetometers:
\u201cWe\u2019re turning Pelosi\u2019s House back into the People\u2019s House.\u201d— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@Rep. Lauren Boebert) 1672766318
The removal of the metal detectors came shortly before Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed to win a majority of House votes on the first ballot for speaker as 19 GOP members opposed him, sending the voting to a second round.
In a rules package unveiled earlier this week, House Republicans propose eliminating "fines for failure of members to comply" with security screenings before reaching the chamber floor.
House members have yet to vote on the proposed rules.
From Your Site Articles
- Any Lawmaker Involved in Planning Jan. 6 Insurrection 'Must Be Expelled,' Says AOC ›
- 'Co-Conspirators in Sedition': Here Are the Names of Every Republican Who Voted to Overturn Election Results ›
- 'This Must Be Stopped': House Republicans Plan to Gut Ethics Office ›
- US House Adjourns—Again—After 11 Failed Votes to Select a Speaker ›
- Two Years After Jan. 6, Omar Says 'Imagine If This Was to Happen Under Republican Control' ›
- House GOP 'Insurrection Protection Committee Is a Sham,' Says Pressley ›
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.