Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York pulled the fire alarm in a Capitol office building on Saturday ahead of a crucial, last-minute House vote that could avert a government shutdown, his office confirmed.
“Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote,” a spokesman for Bowman said. “The Congressman regrets any confusion.”
It’s unclear why Bowman pulled the fire alarm.
U.S. Capitol Police confirmed in a statement that a fire alarm caused an evacuation of the Cannon office building at 12:05 p.m. Eastern time. The building was evacuated while Capitol police officers checked it, and the building was reopened after it was determined that there was no threat.
“An investigation into what happened and why continues,” the statement said.
The House voted 335-91 on Saturday on a bipartisan stopgap spending measure that would fund the government for 45 days, a dramatic last-minute vote that will likely stop a government shutdown that had seemed all but inevitable just hours earlier. The bill has been sent to the Senate, which must approve it by midnight Saturday to avoid a shutdown.
The GOP-led House Administration Committee said Saturday that an investigation was already underway into Bowman pulling the fire alarm.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters he would be speaking to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries about the incident.
Jeffries told reporters that he hadn’t seen the video of the incident yet.
— Keshia Butts contributed to this report.
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