A group of House Republicans wasted no time in going after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday for allegedly breaking the new security measures she pushed to have passed earlier this week.
GOP lawmakers on the House Administration Committee sent a letter to Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett, requesting she be issued the newly implemented $5,000 fine for failing to complete a security screening before entering the House floor.
HOUSE ADOPTS RULE TO FINE LAWMAKERS WHO REFUSE TO USE METAL DETECTORS
“Yesterday, at approximately 9:59 am, multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House Chamber without completing security screening,” the Republicans wrote on Friday in a letter obtained by Fox News.
“What was observed was a clear violation of House Resolution 73 and you are required by House Rules to impose this fine. Please inform us once the fine has been assessed,” they continued. “We look forward to a prompt response to this inquiry.”
The House passed a measure Tuesday requiring all members to pass through magnetometers Capitol Hill police erected outside the House chamber following the Capitol riot last month.
Several Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Louie Gohmert of Texas, flatly refused to walk through the metal detectors before entering the chamber — prompting Pelosi to add a penalty for noncompliance.
Lawmakers are now slapped with a $5,000 fine the first time they violate the new security protocols, followed by a $10,000 fine for each additional violation.
Pelosi did not provide a comment, instead referring Fox News to Blodgett’s response letter.
Blodgett informed the GOP committee members that he had not yet received a complaint by the Capitol Police regarding Pelosi’s alleged violation – the newly established procedure required for the Acting Sergeant-at-Arms to issue a fine.
“House Sergeant at Arms imposes the fine after receiving an unusual occurrence report from the United States Capitol Police (USCP),” he explained. “An unusual incident report from the Capitol Police is appended to the document sent to the Member providing notice of the fine.
“Only the USCP can determine whether an individual has failed to complete security screening as only the USCP has sufficient training to determine compliance with USCP screening procedures,” Blodgett continued. “I have not received any unusual incident report from the USCP concerning the Speaker of the House,” he added.
Republicans have rejected the new security measures, claiming that the threat is from external forces, not fellow members – a sentiment Democratic lawmakers have fervently pushed back on.
GOP Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia and Gohmert were issued fines for sidestepping the new screening process Friday.
Gohmert has said he will contest the fine, claiming he went through the metal detector and then left to go to the bathroom through a side door before he was needed on the House floor.
Though he was not re-screened before returning to the chamber.
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“Unlike in the movie ‘The Godfather,’ there are no toilets with tanks where one could hide a gun, so my reentry onto the House floor should have been a non-issue,” the Texas Republican said in a statement Friday.
“I will be appealing the fine and taking whatever action is necessary, especially considering this policy is unconstitutional,” he added.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
