WASHINGTON (AP) – The mood is so bad in the Capitol that a Democratic congressman recently passed a lift instead of riding with Republican colleagues who voted against Joe Biden’s election
Republicans say it’s Democrats who just have to get over it – proceed with January 6 deadly attack on the Capitol, end the COVID-19 restrictions and make an effort to be dual.
Less than 100 days after the start of the new Congress, the legislature has become an increasingly toxic and troubled place, with lawmakers frustrated by the coronavirus-imposed limits on working from home and suspicious of each other following the riot over Donald Trump at 6 January. presidency.
Particularly in the House, which remains partially closed off by the pandemic and where lawmakers heard gunshots ringing during the siege, confidence is low, the established facts about the riot are apparently up for debate and wary, exhausted members are unsure how and when the House ”returns to normal.
A newer congressman said it is “heartbreaking” to see what has become of the institution she nurtured in the country she has vowed to defend against foreign and domestic enemies.
“You know, sometimes I just close my eyes and imagine this place the way it used to be, and how welcoming it was,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., First elected in 2018.
As an immigrant from Somalia, she said she uses the coping skills she learned as a wartime child to enter the barbed-wire-fenced Capitol, now with armed members of the National Guard, to “ try to pretend that’s not what it is. “
The first months of the year have exposed the scars of historical, unprecedented events. The fallout extends far beyond the broken windows and carved walls of the Capitol to the loss that stems from the absence of habitual routines and visitors that were the daily buzz of democracy. With virtual gatherings and socially detached voices, lawmakers have fewer opportunities to talk to each other, exchange ideas, and allay fears in the aftermath of the riot.
“The mood is toxic,” said Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill. “I mean it’s really stupid to be in the minority, but it’s really worse when there’s such a high biased temperature.”
It came to a head last week when a dozen Republicans voted against awarding Congressional Gold Medal to law enforcement officials defending the Capitol, in part because the resolution mentioned the ‘insurgents’ who used the ‘temple’ of the Capitol. Attacked American democracy. Democrats were amazed.
Despite the charged atmosphere, the House continues Biden’s agenda, the Democratic majority inaugurating the $ 1.9 trillion virus control bill. without the support of a single Republican. Tensions are slowing, but not slowing, swift action on voting rights, weapons background checks, and other legislative priorities, but leave the potential for bipartisanship with Biden an open question.
One certainty is that the last president left an indelible mark on the legislature.
Trump’s politics are changing the Republican party as lawmakers mimic his style. GOP lawmakers usually just downplay the uprising as a “ protest, ” even when 300 people have been charged with the attack. Republicans reject the House’s coronavirus restrictions, despite public health guidelines pushing for vaccinations, wearing masks, and social distance to prevent another wave.
Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said that at events he attended at home, few people wear masks anymore and “the attitude is that it’s time to get back to normal, back to freedom.”
Leadership sets the tone, and California Representative Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., The best Republican in the House, tried to suggest at a recent press conference that the GOP challenges to Biden’s win weren’t meant to change the election results – despite Trump He urged his supporters to “fight like hell” on Jan. 6 as lawmakers certified the 2020 election results.
Five people died as a result of the attack on the Capitol, including a woman shot by police and a police officer who later died of injuries.
Dozens of lawmakers have tested positive for the coronavirus, and two elected officials, both Republicans, have died of COVID-19, one just before his inauguration on Jan. 3.
The GOP leader has sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., A letter saying the House should resume normal operations now that 75% of lawmakers have been vaccinated.
Pelosi replied Friday that the goal is “100%” compliance with vaccinations and social distance guidelines.
One problem with resuming all-person operations in the Capitol is the lack of vaccinations for thousands of the House’s 435 members of staff. So far, only two doses are available for each House Office, officials said. Six more doses are expected to be added next week.
The Senate, with 100 members, largely resumed its activities last spring.
For now, the House proxy voting introduced to mitigate lawmakers’ health risks from traveling to Washington will continue. Visitors are still off limits in the Capitol.
“There are times when I am very excited and very happy, but really great things are happening,” said Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, who skipped the elevator when he saw that there were Republicans in it taking the presidential elections. .
But he said he was bothered by lawmakers who “ try to somehow argue that, you know, this was an act of patriotic people who disagreed? Give me a break.”
Clearly, Democrats are spent more emotionally than House Republicans, who strengthened their ranks in the last election despite Trump’s loss. Their winnings narrowed the way to regaining House control in 2022.
A Trump-aligned Republican lawmaker, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has begun redecorating Democrats on the floor by demanding roll call based on routine legislation, testing the patience of lawmakers as the already lengthy proceedings in the House drag on until late at night . In February, the House voted to remove Greene from her committee duties due to her long history of outrageous social media posts and other actions.
While the Capitol’s security fencing will be removed, metal detectors remain stationed outside the Living Room after some Republican lawmakers pledged to bring their firearms onto the House floor.
Confidence is low.
“Do you think?” said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Among those who voted against the police medals. “Look at the metal detectors here – we need to get a squeegee.”
Representative Steve Palazzo, R-Miss., Acknowledged, “Maybe a relationship needs to be built.”
Representative Norma Torres, D-Calif., Said she spent sleepless nights repeating January’s attack scenes in her head.
She said she hopes for some assurances from her Republican colleagues that they are all pursuing the same goal of “maintaining our democracy.”
“If we want to get back to normal,” she said, “we have to get better than we are.”