OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A House Judiciary Committee meeting got into a fiery debate after New York Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler did not want the meeting to start with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced an Amendment to start each meeting with the pledge of allegiance and Rep. Nadler was furious. The representative said the rule would give members “the ability to invite inspirational constituents” to lead with the pledge.
“I would oppose it simply on the grounds that, as members know, we pledge allegiance every day on the floor and I don’t know why we should pledge allegiance twice in the same day, to show how patriotic we are,” Rep. Nadler said.
Then another Democrat representative, Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, introduced an Amendment to the Amendment that said the pledge could not be led by anyone who supported the January 6, 2021 incident at the Capitol.
“This pledge is a validation of your defense of democracy and the constitution,” he said. “It’s hard to take that claim seriously when, in fact, a person in some way supported an anti-government insurgency.”
“I’m talking about elected officials who swear an oath to the United States Constitution, who in some way participated in, supported, facilitated, and encouraged the insurgency against the United States,” he said. “That’s not too hard a standard.”
“I know it’s a real backbreaker,” New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew said. “We can [go] that little extra mile, stand up, put our hand on our chest, say what we believe, and affirm this America we love. Come on. This can not be true. I can’t believe we’re having this debate.”
After the debate, Rep. Gaetz spoke to The Daily Caller about what transpired.
“Standing for the American flag isn’t controversial. Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance isn’t a waste of time. Democrats are so outraged at the idea of a daily dose of patriotism that they spent 30 minutes ranting and raving in opposition. Congress cannot expect the American people to believe they are fighting for their values when they don’t even care to recite the Pledge of Allegiance,” he said.
“It’s absurd that Democrats on the committee don’t even want to say the pledge of allegiance. You would think it would be a simple request – not so for the Judiciary Democrats, who almost seemed allergic to reciting the pledge,” Republican North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop said to the Daily Caller.
Unbelievable. @RepJerryNadler just said he opposes @RepMattGaetz's offer to say the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE before Judiciary Committee meetings. pic.twitter.com/ynaw3Wqoz6
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) February 1, 2023
In 2021, Gaetz proposed the same amendment and Nadler opposed it.
“I just think it would be nice, if in the spirit of national unity, and national pride … that at the beginning of each meeting, the chair, or one of the designees of the chair, would have the opportunity to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance,” Rep. Gaetz said.
“It’s unnecessary,” Rp. Nadler said. “There’s no necessity to say the Pledge of Allegiance twice during the same day.”
In 2021 Rep. Gaetz’s mmendment did not pass, but on Tuesday it did.
Gaetz is applauding House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for “fulfilling the commitment” to several lawmakers to release nearly 14,000 hours of footage from the incident at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Bravo, Speaker McCarthy. This was not an agreement that we had at the beginning of last week, but as the week progressed, Speaker McCarthy, to his great credit, understood this was important to a great many of us. And when we get these 14,000 hours out, we’re going to be able to see the extent to which the federal agents and assets that were present that day, may or may not have increased the level of criminal acuity. We’re going to be able to see their coordination with one another,” Gaetz said during an interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
“And we’re also going to be able to see if there is exculpatory evidence that would show that people never intended to violate a law, even though they might have been technically out of compliance with whatever the standard was, at that time, based on the Vice President’s movements that they probably weren’t aware of anyway,” Gaetz continued. “It is interesting, though, that at every time from the JFK files to 9/11, to now January 6, it’s our own government, it is our own Department of Justice, that seems to stand in the way of transparency. The Speaker of the House is now fulfilling the commitment he made to us, and he deserves a great deal of credit for it.”
“Amen. I feel the same way, and I had similar views about McCarthy,” host Tucker Carlson replied. “That’s the ones you had, but I’m so thankful for this.”
