Three House Republicans on Friday sent a letter to the Acting Sergeant at Arms, Timothy Blodgett, asking him to impost a $5,000 fine on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for failing to undergo a security screening prior to entering the House floor.
The letter's authors – Congressman Rodney Davis, Barry Loudermilk and Bryan Stiel – cite House Resolution 73, which imposes a $5,000 fine the first time a member fails to undergo a security screening. If a second offense occurs, the fine is $10,000. The resolution passed in the chamber on Tuesday.
"The resolution, which went into effect upon passage of the House on February 2nd, imposes a fine for $5,000 for the first offense. It also directs you to notify in writing of fines being imposed of violations for House Resolution 73," the letter stated. "Yesterday, at approximately 9:59 am, multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House Chamber without completely security screening."
Myself, @RodenyDavis and @RepBryanSteil sent the following letter to the SAA asking them to fine @SpeakerPelosi $5,000 for breaking House rules she put into place. Yesterday, members witnessed Speaker Pelosi walking around the metal detectors prior to walking on the House floor. pic.twitter.com/viECe18Qy5
— Rep. Barry Loudermilk (@RepLoudermilk) February 5, 2021
The letter comes after Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Andrew Clyde (R-GA) were issued $5,000 fines for their first offense.
Gohmert said he left the House floor to use the restroom and didn't know he had to go through security again. He plans to appeal the fine to the House Ethics Committee, The Hill reported.
Under the resolution, fines will automatically be deducted from the member's paycheck so it cannot be paid with campaign funds or funds from the member's congressional office budget.
The metal detectors were installed after the riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Members are allowed to skip metal detectors that are typically stationed at other locations outside the Capitol complex. The only exception now is the metal detectors that are now outside of the House chamber.