WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) led a letter demanding Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stop denying the American people their right to access the U.S. Capitol and its grounds.
This letter comes after Speaker Pelosi ordered fencing and increased security be placed around the Capitol grounds in preparation for President Biden’s State of the Union Address with no credible threats to back up the action.
“Speaker Pelosi has barred our constituents from accessing the halls of Congress for too long under the guise of the COVID-19 pandemic and her own lack of trust in the American people,” said Rep. McClain. “If there is a true and imminent threat to Congress that requires fencing, the Speaker needs to tell Congress now.”
Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Mary E. Miller (R-IL), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Bill Posey (R-FL), Troy E. Nehls (R-TX), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) joined McClain in sending the letter.
For a copy of the letter, click here.
The full text is below.
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Madam Speaker,
It was recently announced that the United States Capitol will once again be barricaded and fenced to prevent the American people from accessing the Capitol grounds. While we are supportive of protecting our institutions, denying the American people their right to access our nation’s most public and treasured buildings is an abhorrent decision. Your latest plan to fence off the U.S. Capitol further erodes Americans’ faith and trust in the People’s House.
If you have actual intelligence on a potential threat to the United States Capitol, it is your duty as Speaker of the House of Representatives to give a full briefing to all members of Congress. Making a unilateral decision that denies the American people their right to access public buildings is a disgraceful decision that would only further stain your reputation as a Speaker who has continually denied U.S. citizens their rights.
For nearly two years, you have locked the American people out of the halls of Congress. We are demanding you either overrule the decision by U.S. Capitol security to place fencing around the Capitol grounds, or you give all members of Congress a full briefing on the supposedly imminent and dire threat the State of the Union faces.
We look forward to your immediate response.
