Just before House lawmakers voted Saturday to pass a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in a Congressional office building.

What You Need To Know

  • New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in a House office building on Saturday

  • The alarm caused the building to be evacuated

  • Bowman’s office says it was unintentional, but Republicans are calling for investigations into the incident

  • The incident took place just before House lawmakers passed a bill to fund the government; Bowman was one of the more than 200 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill

The alarm caused the building to be evacuated. Bowman’s office said it was unintentional.

“Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote,” Bowman’s spokesperson said. “The Congressman regrets any confusion.”

The Republican-led House Administration Committee said that it was investigating the incident.

“Rep Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in Cannon this morning,” a social media post signed by Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., reads. “An investigation into why it was pulled is underway.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., condemned Bowman’s actions, comparing him to rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“When we found that an individual elected to Congress would pull a fire alarm — that’s a new low,” McCarthy said. “We watched how people have been treated if they’ve done something wrong in this Capitol — it will be interesting to see how he is treated.”

McCarthy said that he wants the House Ethics Committee to look into the matter.

“I’m going to have a discussion with [House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries] about it, but this should not go without punishment,” McCarthy said, calling it “an embarrassment.”

Jeffries told reporters that he has not yet seen the video and will have “no further comment” until he does.

Fellow New York lawmaker Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican, said that she will put forward a measure to expel Bowman from Congress, which would require a two-thirds vote.

"This is the United States Congress, not a New York City high school," she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Tiwtter. "This action warrants expulsion & I’m introducing a resolution to do just that."

GOP Reps. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming and Lisa McClain of Michigan told Axios that they are drafting censure measures for Bowman, which would only require a simple majority to pass.

Falsely pulling a fire alarm in Washington, D.C., is a misdemeanor, though it’s unclear if any laws were broken. U.S. Capitol Police told reporters that they are looking into the matter.

Bowman released a statement late Saturday night, saying he was not trying to delay the vote.

“It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open,” he wrote.

Bowman said he activated the fire alarm because he mistakenly thought it would open a door that he said “is usually open for votes but today would not open.”

“I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this called,” he wrote in the statement.

Bowman was one of the more than 200 Democrats who voted to pass the bill to fund the government on Saturday.