Pelosi wants security money to face ‘enemy’ within House
WASHINGTON » More money is needed to protect lawmakers from threats of violence coming from an “enemy” within Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, a startling acknowledgment of how internal tensions over safety have escalated since this month’s Capitol attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The California Democrat’s remarks came as the acting chief of the Capitol Police said separately that “vast improvements” are needed to protect the Capitol and adjacent office buildings, including permanent fencing. Such barricades have ringed the complex since the deadly Jan. 6 riot, but many lawmakers have long resisted giving the nation’s symbol of democracy the look of a besieged compound.
Pelosi told reporters she thinks Congress will need to provide more money “for more security for members, when the enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about.”
Asked to clarify what she meant, Pelosi said, “It means that we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress.”
Pelosi’s remarks underscored how anxiety about security has remained high in Congress since Trump supporters’ Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, which led to five deaths.
Lawmakers, including some who voted for this month’s House impeachment of Trump, have reported receiving threats.
The apprehension has taken on clear partisan undertones. Some Republicans have loudly objected to having to pass through newly installed metal detectors before they enter the House chamber, while Pelosi has proposed fining lawmakers who bypass the devices.
Pelosi did not say whom she meant by her reference to an “enemy” within the House, and a spokesperson provided no examples when asked.
But first-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has liked Facebook posts that advocated for violence against Democrats and the FBI.
One post suggested shooting Pelosi in the head.
Asked to comment, Greene sent a written statement accusing Democrats and journalists of attacking her because she is “a threat to their goal of Socialism” and supports Trump and conservative values. “They want to take me out because I represent the people. And they absolutely hate it,” she said.