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- Republicans on Saturday said Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in a House office building.
- "Rep Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in Cannon this morning," Rep. Bryan Steil wrote on X.
- The US Capitol Police confirmed on Saturday that an investigation of the incident was underway.
House Republicans on Saturday said that Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in a congressional office building as Democrats sought to delay a vote on a GOP-authored stopgap spending bill.
Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Administration Committee, took to X, formerly Twitter, in making the announcement about the two-term New York Democrat.
"Rep Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in Cannon this morning. An investigation into why it was pulled is underway," he wrote.
Bowman's chief of staff, Sarah Iddrissu, responded on X that the lawmaker "did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote. The Congressman regrets any confusion."
The congressman later told reporters: "I thought the alarm would open the door."
Republicans have said that the act was captured on camera.
While a video of the incident has not yet been released, a photo of an individual near a fire alarm was released Saturday afternoon by the Capitol Police.
—Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 30, 2023
The US Capitol Police later confirmed an investigation of the incident.
"Today at 12:05 p.m., a fire alarm was activated on the 2nd floor of the Cannon House Office Building," the agency wrote. "The building was evacuated while USCP officers checked the building. The building was reopened after it was determined there was not a threat."
"An investigation into what happened and why continues," the agency added.
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, with whom Bowman has sparred in the past, quickly took to X to accuse the progressive congressman of interrupting "an official proceeding."
The House did eventually pass the stopgap spending measure, which keeps the government funded for 45 more days, on Saturday afternoon. It now heads to the Senate for a vote.
If the Senate doesn't pass the bill by midnight, the federal government will officially shut down.
Insider reached out to a representative of Bowman's office for further comment.