A moment of silence on the House floor over the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk gave way to a shouting match Wednesday between Republicans and Democrats.
Driving the news: The commotion began when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) rose following the moment of silence to ask that the House also say a prayer for Kirk, according to multiple lawmakers who were on the floor during the incident.
- Democrats then shouted "what about the kids in Colorado," referring to a school shooting in Colorado that also occurred Wednesday afternoon. Boebert responded that she was about to reference that tragedy before she was interrupted.
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who worked as Kirk's director of Hispanic engagement at Turning Point USA, then stood up and yelled at Democrats: "You caused this!"
- That prompted a raucous Democratic response, with Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), a leader on the gun violence prevention task force, shouting, "Pass some gun laws!"
What they're saying: The incident was a "reminder that we need to turn the temperature down in this country," Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) told Axios.
- "Political violence is scary for all of us, and ... that type of backlash doesn't help things," she said.
- Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) told Axios the scene was "classless."
- "We had a couple on our side that should have kept their mouths shut…there were many on the Democrat side that needed to show their discontent and rudeness," Meuser said.
Between the lines: One source of Democrats' frustration was a belief that granting Boebert's request for a prayer would have been a departure from standard House procedure.
- House Administration Committee ranking member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) told Axios that saying a prayer on the House floor in response to a tragedy is something "we don't even do for fallen members."
- "You have a system that you follow for everybody ... and when you violate it and create exceptions, it then leads to this uneasiness and I think that's kind of what happened in the moment," Morelle said.
The other side: Luna said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) should allow a prayer on the House floor for Kirk despite Democrats' objections.
- "The fact that Democrats were not allowing the speaker to do a moment of prayer is really disgusting," she said.
- "We should have been allowed to pray for Charlie. I would encourage the speaker to go back tomorrow and let us pray on the floor for Charlie Kirk's family."
