The House chamber and gallery in Congress are being transformed into a massive safe room with the addition of bullet-proof doors, Axios reports.
The move comes as congressional leaders discuss a $2 billion package for new Capitol fencing and security personnel following the Jan. 6 attack that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer, and more than 140 injured.
Republicans have repeatedly clashed with Democrats over how to respond to the Capitol siege that sent lawmakers scrambling into private quarters as rioters rushed the halls.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pushed for an independent 9/11-style commission to investigate the riot, though those talks have stalled, as Republicans are skeptical a probe will be bipartisan and instead focus heavily on former President Donald Trump’s role in the attack.
Rep. Rodney Davis, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, told CNN that Pelosi's proposal suggested she was "not serious about it."
"And if she was, she would be negotiating whether or not to have a partisan bent on it, or one that even the 9/11 Commission chair and vice chair said, this commission should be a very bipartisan one like that,” Davis said. "You can't call what she proposed a 9/11-style commission. It's not even close."
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed anger with the security situation at the Capitol, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell last month telling CNN, “I think we’ve overdone it” when it comes to the current measures, which includes National Guard troops patrolling the grounds and razor wire fencing around the Capitol.
"I just checked earlier this morning. There are no serious threats against the Capitol. I think we're way overreacting to the current need," McConnell said on March 10.
"I'm extremely uncomfortable with the fact that my constituents can't come to the Capitol. With all this razor wire around the complex, it reminds me of my last visit to Kabul. This is the capital of the United States of America. Do we need some changes? We probably do. But I think we are continuing to overreact based on current threat levels, to what is needed here at the Capitol. It looks terrible to have the beacon of our democracy surrounded by razor wire and National Guard troops," he added.
The $2 billion package would include a permanent fence around the Capitol, hundreds of new security personnel and new authorities for the District of Columbia’s National Guard to be dispatched in emergency situations, according to a source who spoke with CNN.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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