Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if President Joe Biden would ever pull a fire alarm to get out of a meeting.
Doocy referenced Democratic New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulling the fire alarm inside the Cannon House Office Building during a vote on a funding bill ahead of the 2023 fiscal year expiration Saturday. Democrats attempted to stall the vote on several occasions reportedly over a lack of funding for Ukraine.
“Would President Biden ever try to get out of a meeting by pulling a fire alarm?” Doocy asked during Monday’s White House press briefing.
“Are you talking about something specific?” Jean-Pierre said.
“A Democratic member of Congress pulled a fire alarm around a series of votes, no fire,” Doocy responded. “Is that appropriate?”
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“What I can tell you is I have not spoken to the president about this, and so I’m just not gonna comment. I will leave it up to you, I know there’s a House process moving forward right now, I’ll leave it to the House,” Jean-Pierre answered. (RELATED: GOP Rep. Jason Smith Says Rep. Bowman ‘Better Be’ Held Accountable For Pulling Fire Alarm During Floor Vote)
House Republicans have launched a process with the intent of removing Bowman from office and calling on him to be prosecuted over the incident. The congressman could be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to six months in jail as it is unlawful to “wilfully or knowingly give a false alarm of fire within the District of Columbia,” according to a District law.
Republican New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis announced her plan to file a resolution to expel her fellow state congressman from office in a Saturday statement. Republican New York Rep. Nick Langworthy also called for a criminal investigation to be conducted into the fire alarm incident.
“I’ll tell you this much, what he did was a federal crime and I’m putting in a resolution to expel him from Congress. I hope he’s gonna be charged with the federal crime that he committed today,” Malliotakis said.
Bowman denied that he attempted to delay the House floor vote and claimed he pulled the alarm to rapidly open the door and cast his vote in time.
“Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open,” Bowman said in his Saturday statement. “I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused. But I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote.”
“It was the exact opposite–I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open,” Bowman continued.