Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., admitted to pulling a fire alarm and causing the House to evacuate for a whole hour during the negotiations on a law to fund the government until mid-November.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took questions about Bowman’s mishap from a Fox News star that drew quiet laughs from the press pool.
Peter Doocy, Fox News White House correspondent, asked Jean-Pierre, “Would President Biden ever try to get out of a meeting by pulling a fire alarm?”
After some laughter from other reporters, Jean-Pierre said, “Are you talking about something specifically?”
Doocy replied, “A Democratic member of Congress pulled a fire alarm around a series of votes. No fire. Is that appropriate?”
Jean-Pierre avoided the question and referred the reporter to the House’s P.R. team.
“What I can tell you is I have not talked — spoken to the President about this. And so, just not going — just not going to comment,” Jean-Pierre said. “I will leave it up to — I know there’s a House process moving forward right now. I’ll leave it to the House.”
At the time of the alarm, House Democrats were working to delay a vote on a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open. They said they needed time to review the 71-page bill that Republicans abruptly released to avoid a shutdown.
The House ultimately passed the bill.
The GOP-led House Administration Committee, which oversees issues pertaining to the Capitol complex, posted a picture of a person pulling the fire alarm who appeared to be Bowman.
Capitol Police said in a statement Saturday that an “investigation into what happened and why continues.”
Take a look at Bowman’s moment… and Jean-Pierre’s lack of interest.
Doocy: "Would President Biden ever try to get out of a meeting by pulling a fire alarm?"
WH press sec: "Not gonna comment" pic.twitter.com/ub3felR2DS
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 2, 2023
Bowman himself had something to say about the incident.
The New York lawmaker told reporters hours later that it was a mistake and that he was rushing to get to votes and was trying to get through a door that is usually open.
Bowman said he met with the House Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police “at their request, and explained what had happened. My hope is that no one will make more of this than it was.”
After the vote, Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, criticized Bowman over the fire alarm.
“This should not go without punishment,” McCarthy told reporters. “This is an embarrassment.” He added that he plans to talk with the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York to figure out a possible response.
The congressman’s office dismissed the Republicans’ critiques of his actions and told them instead to focus on the “Nazi members” in their ranks.
Bowman is a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
“I believe Congressman Bowman when he says this was an accident. Republicans need to instead focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else,” Bowman’s office told other Democrats, in a memo obtained by Politico.
Bowman himself has distanced himself from this line, and he chided his office for the “inappropriate use of the term Nazi without my consent.”
“I condemn the use of the term Nazi out of its precise definition. It is important to specify the term Nazi to refer to members of the Nazi party & neo-Nazis,” Bowman tweeted Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.