Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., stunned conservatives and members of the media on Sunday after releasing multiple statements about pulling the fire alarm in a congressional office building.
Bowman pulled the alarm on Saturday while lawmakers were voting on a bill to avoid a government shutdown. Bowman said in a statement that he was rushing to cast his vote on the bill.
Bowman’s chief of staff, Sarah Iddrissu, said that Bowman “didn’t realize” he would trigger an alarm.
“Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote,” Iddrissu wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The Congressman regrets any confusion.”
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Bowman posted another statement to X Saturday evening and again said he believed it would have opened the door.
“I want to personally clear up confusion surrounding today’s events. Today as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes, but today would not be open. I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door,” Bowman said, apologizing for any confusion.
He said that he did not intend to delay the vote, insisting it was the exact opposite.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said the statement put out by Bowman’s chief of staff was “complete garbage.”
“He did not realize deliberately pulling a fire alarm would … trigger a fire alarm. This statement is complete garbage,” he wrote.
Another Republican member of congress said the statement was “proof” of how far Democrats were willing to go in order to force a shutdown, while others doubted the excuse Bowman gave.
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Real Clear Politics’ Mark Hemingway said the statement was a “blatant lie” and deserved to be treated as such.
Other commentators described it as the “worst statement ever” and questioned how Bowman could claim to have set the alarm off by “mistake.”
Florida GOP chair Christian Ziegler, the chair of Florida’s GOP, noted Bowman was a school principal and argued that his staff was lying.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also attempted to explain the incident on Sunday during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, who said Bowman’s explanation made no sense.
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“I think there’s something to be said that the government’s about to shut down, there’s a vote clock that’s going down, the exits that are normally open in that building were suddenly closed…” Ocasio-Cortez began to explain.
Tapper interjected and asked, “So he pulled the fire alarm?”
Ocasio-Cortez went on to suggest it was just a misunderstanding and said Bowman was cooperating with Capitol police.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
