Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler shut down Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s request to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before the House Judiciary Committee during a Wednesday hearing.
During the first Judiciary hearing with the new GOP-led Congress, Gaetz put forward an amendment to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each hearing, to which Nadler responded, saying, “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.” Gaetz mentioned he thought it would be a unifying and patriotic act.
Gaetz responded to Nadler’s opposition exclusively to the Daily Caller, saying, “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.”
WATCH:
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
“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 told the Daily Caller.
In 2021, House Judiciary Democrats appeared to make fun of Gaetz’s request to have the committee recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of hearings on a hot mic. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Judiciary Democrats Appear To Make Fun Of Gaetz’s Request To Recite Pledge Of Allegiance Before Hearings On Hot Mic)
At the time, the Daily Caller obtained a video file from the hearing which included audio of a group of Democrats joking about Republicans’ request to have the Pledge of Allegiance recited before committee hearings. In the video, Tennessee Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen and an unidentified House Democrat can be heard appearing to joke about the request. They were reminded by a staffer that their microphones were hot, according to the audio. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Democrats Are Blocking Republican Efforts To Digitally Upload Hunter Biden’s Laptop)
The Caller contacted Nadler’s office about his opposition to Gaetz’s move to say the Pledge of Allegiance before Judiciary Committee meetings, to which they did not immediately respond.