House Republicans are calling for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be fined, alleging she “broke her own rules.”
Republican lawmakers on the House Administration Committee wrote in a letter on Friday, “Yesterday, at approximately 9:59 am, multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House Chamber without completing security screening.”
In the letter to Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett, they noted that new rules direct him to “impose fines against members of the House who fail to complete security prior to entering the House chamber.”
They added, “What was observed was a clear violation of House Resolution 73 and you are required by House Rules to impose this fine. Please inform us once the fine has been assessed. We look forward to a prompt response to this inquiry.”
See the full letter below:
Speaker Pelosi broke her own rules this week by entering the House Chamber without going through security. We are demanding she face the same fines as every other member of Congress. pic.twitter.com/5yj8ZIMUUD
— House Admin. Committee GOP (@HouseAdmin) February 5, 2021
Under the new rule, lawmakers who evade new security measures — such as going through metal detectors to enter the House floor — will be fined $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for the second offense. This follows after the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
Blodgett responded to the letter, “House Sergeant at Arms imposes the fine after receiving an unusual occurrence report from the United States Capitol Police (USCP). An unusual incident report from the Capitol Police is appended to the document sent to the Member providing notice of the fine,” according to The Hill.
He added, “Only the USCP can determine whether an individual has failed to complete security screening as only the USCP has sufficient training to determine compliance with USCP screening procedures. I have directed that the USCP produce and provide unusual incident reports on any individual who fails to complete security screening without exception. I have not received any unusual incident report from the USCP concerning the Speaker of the House.”