Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said fellow New Yorker Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) should “strongly consider” resigning if he pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building Saturday.
“That any member of Congress would think it’s appropriate to pull a fire alarm to try and delay Congress from doing its business is shameful, it’s unbecoming, and he should strongly consider resigning from Congress if he did that,” Lawler said on Fox News.
Bowman reportedly pulled the fire alarm before the House passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government funded. The New York congressman’s actions resulted in the building’s evacuation.
“Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote,” a Bowman spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “The Congressman regrets any confusion.”
Other Republicans have slammed Bowman for the incident, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
“This should not go without punishment,” McCarthy said at a press conference.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also offered a similar take on the situation.
“I’m demanding that the Department of Justice prosecute him using the same way they prosecuted January 6 defendants. It’s the exact same law,” Greene said.
The House’s bill attempts to keep the government funded at the same levels it already is through mid-November. It also features $16 billion in disaster relief, but no aid to Ukraine or changes in border policy.