Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) doubled down on claims around the censure of Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) over his pulling of a fire alarm, and things got heated when the two discussed the war in Gaza.
In an appearance alongside Bowman on CNN, Lawler brushed away Bowman’s suggestion that it was completely accidental when he pulled the fire alarm, arguing that the New York Democrat had to have been aware of what he was doing.
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“Yes. With all due respect to my colleague, he pulled a fire alarm intentionally,” Lawler responded when asked if he believed a censure was an appropriate punishment.
“He can try to say that it was not, or that he made a mistake, he thought the fire alarm would open a door. He’s a middle school principal. He certainly understands the difference between a locked door and a fire alarm.”
“He ran by seven Capitol Hill police officers after the alleged mistake and didn’t say a word,” Lawler added. “He only spoke to them once … they went and found him and started inquiring about it. So, with all due respect, this was not a mistake. It was intentional. The Democrats were playing shenanigans that day doing single-file line voting using paper cards, rather than their electronic cards, to delay the vote on a continuing resolution. There needs to be accountability.”
Bowman hit back against Lawler’s assertions.
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“As you can see, my Republican colleague is trying to get into my head and articulate my state of mind despite my multiple consistent comments to the contrary, despite me not being charged for disrupting a congressional proceeding,” he responded.
The two then got into a heated exchange over the war in Gaza and antisemitism. Bowman said that Israel was committing a “mass murder” in Gaza, and Lawler insisted Israel was simply defending itself.
