On the recordDecember 6, 2023
On Saturday, September 30, 2023, the House of Representatives was considering a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. Minutes after the Democratic whip made a motion to adjourn, Jamaal Bowman decided to pull a fire alarm. He pulled that fire alarm intentionally and willfully, and he knew exactly what he was doing. This happened in the Cannon House Office Building, where my office is located. I happened to have been in my office when he pulled the fire alarm. This caused the Cannon House Office Building to be evacuated, and my staff and I could not return to our office for several hours. Once the fire alarm was pulled, the elevators shut down. It made it very difficult for everyone to leave the building, especially if they were handicapped. People had to go down the stairs in order to exit as the fire alarm was blaring. Not only that, all the staff had to leave. They were not allowed to reenter for a very long time. Capitol Police were scrambling, trying to figure out what had happened, if there was a fire, and if there was a threat to our safety and security. They had to go into an investigation immediately in order to understand why the fire alarm was going. Jamaal Bowman did not tell the Capitol Police that he pulled the fire alarm even though he admitted himself that, when he makes a mistake, he would tell his own students: If you have made a mistake, own up to it and take accountability.…
