Members of both parties expressed frustration on Tuesday night with the long lines before the entrance to the House floor. Many Republicans see the move as invasive, but several Democrats see it as necessary, as they increasingly see their colleagues across the corridor as security threats.
“It is a pity that Nancy Pelosi is trying to disarm members of Congress in the same place that needed more protection on January 6,” she said in a statement. “Of course, metal detectors would not have prevented the violent acts we saw; this political maneuver does nothing to improve the safety of members at the Capitol complex.”
“This sucks right here. You can turn it down,” said Freedom Caucus Chair rep Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, who called metal detectors “the stupidest thing” as he walked by them.
Representatives Steve Womack of Arkansas and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, both Republicans, blew up on Capitol Police.
“I was physically restrained!” Womack shouted. “It’s my constitutional right!” shouted Mullin.
Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois, also a Republican, told Mullin not to yell at the Capitol Police.
“This is not their fault, they are doing their job,” said Davis.
But Davis, a senior Republican on the House management committee, told CNN he was “pissed” because the magnetometers went up without any consultation. House minority leader Steve Scalise told CNN that the situation is “untenable” because it “impedes members’ ability to come and vote. This is our job”.
The Capitol Police finally waved to several lawmakers without forcing them to go through magnetometers.
House Democrats, however, told CNN that they are concerned about some of their Republican colleagues and that there have been several conversations about the need for each member of Congress and their guests to start passing metal detectors. Several lawmakers are concerned that they are ignoring the House’s rules on firearms.
Referring to Boebert, freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and others, a House Democrat described to CNN “increasing tensions with certain freshmen for months, who have insisted on bringing firearms in violation of the law and guidelines. “
“There are concerns about the armed members in hand, but we also don’t know who they are going to bring into possession to bypass the metal detectors,” said another Democrat in the House. “Until there is an investigation and until we understand the level of complicity of our colleagues in the attack, we don’t know how involved they really were. Until we have the answers, I don’t think we should trust them – not all of them, of course, but some of them. “
This Democrat noted that some of the House Republicans rose to the House floor after last week’s attack and continued to share unmasked conspiracies about the 2020 election. This Democrat added that some refused to wear masks while they were sheltering in the place and now at least three Democrats tested positive for Covid-19.
Some Democrats are also unhappy with metal detectors.
“I am more likely to die from Covid because I beat a colleague than because a colleague shot me,” Texas Representative Filemon Vela, a Democrat, told CNN.
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.