By: Megyn Kelly
Reviewing the press release released by Jim Jordan (Sean Sparks) about Cori Bush’s (Sasha Angel) unruly actions in the Rules Committee. She entered the committee that she was NOT a part of and proceeded to demand a proxy vote for Representative Brownley (Arielle Chapman). Jim Jordan calmly reminded her the House rules state proxy voting is not allowed. As well as interrupting and speaking over the chairman of the committee, Representative Burgess (Jacob Alt), while he is only trying to get the committee in order to continue the agenda. The Republicans took the time to acknowledge that Representative Brownley was in the hospital accompanying a friend. However, they know they can not bend the rules for every circumstance.
I contacted members of the rules committee to share their input on the situation. Representative Burgess, the rules committee chair, said,
“What happened during the first meeting of the rules committee with Representative Bush came as a complete shock to me. I was already slightly nervous, given it was the first meeting of this session, and I was taking on the role of the Chair of the rules committee. I was already nervous as I wanted to ensure I would do my best. We attempted to find out why Representative Brownley was not accounted for. I give my deepest regards to the Representative and her friend, who is in the hospital. I know that Representative Bush is smart enough to know proxy voting is not allowed under the circumstances brought forward. It came as a complete shock to me that there was such disregard for the power of the chair, especially when I wanted to allow the meeting to be open to the public and allow other members to come in to witness the meetings, but I did not intend for that to be the reason for why the meetings are open. I think Representative Bush has great ideas, and I look forward to working with Representative Bush over this current session. Still, following that instance, I definitely was surprised to see that this is a route Representative Bush is willing to take.”
Representative Steel, (Sammy Amer) the majority leader, voiced,
“In my time in government, I’ve never seen the type of disregard for decorum that Bush demonstrated in the Rules Committee on Tuesday.
While I understand she advocated for her fellow representative and their constituents, I sympathize with Rep. Brownley. The way Bush went about it was highly unprofessional and entitled. She abruptly entered our committee in the middle of the debate, sat in Brownley's seat, interrupted the chair out of order to explain why she was there to begin with, disrupted the debate, and repeatedly spoke out of order.
Ultimately, the Chairman sympathized with Bush and allowed her to stay and sit in for Brownley but reminded her that she would not be allowed to vote for Brownley as proxy voting is prohibited in the House. We returned to debate, adhering to order for some time, and then Cori again interrupted several other members during the debate by reading loudly over them from the Congress Handbook. She refused to stop in spite of several calls for order and decorum until, finally, the Chairman told her she’d be kicked out of the meeting if she continued.
I was frustrated by Bush’s disregard for the rules and order and disrespect toward the chairman and committee members. I couldn’t help but feel she was entitled, as clearly she felt that the rules did not apply to her and Brownley due to personal circumstances, even though an individual congress member’s personal circumstances have never been sufficient justification to break House rules and make exceptions. That’s a slippery slope.
At the same time, this sense of entitlement and self-centered behavior is not surprising coming from members of the Democrat party. They have generally always sought to drive their personal agendas and seldom to drive and represent the will of the constituents who elected them.
I certainly expect more from minority leadership members like Bush than this type of behavior. I hope that Bush and her colleagues on the left reflect on this situation and remind themselves that they are government officials FOR and BY the people. Bush and the Democrats clearly need to review congressional procedure, practice humility, and remind themselves what and who they are elected for.”
An anonymous member also reached out, stating, “I think it was abundantly clear on both sides of the aisle that Burgess was wholly unprepared to chair the Rules Committee, and frankly, it's his chairman's responsibility to ensure orderly committee proceedings. Burgess’s unpreparedness and apprehension as Chairman were definitely factors that led to the chaos of the Rules Committee’s first session.”
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