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Year: 2025

Reporter’s Notebook: Congress fails to lower political temperature after Charlie Kirk assassination

Reporter’s Notebook: Congress fails to lower political temperature after Charlie Kirk assassination

There is no thermostat in the U.S. Capitol. Only thermometers. And that’s why congressional leaders are struggling to lower the temperatures in Congress after the murder of Charlie Kirk. As a veteran congressional reporter, I lost count of how many efforts I witnessed to try to “lower the temperature” around Capitol Hill after a national tragedy. Oh, they might knock a degree off the mercury for a few weeks here and there – sometimes helped by a political cold front (e.g. a lengthy congressional recess). But just like in meteorology, the political gales blow. Weather systems develop. There are dips in the jet stream. Droughts parch the political landscape. Alberta Clippers race through in November and December. All of this results in inevitable thaws. So after some solace, it usually isn’t long until a Category 5 hurricane churns off the Capitol Hill coast. KASH PATEL FACES HOUSE GRILLING AFTER TENSE SENATE CLASHES OVER KIRK ASSASSINATION The temperature then skyrockets. In meteorology, there are always temperature “norms.” Yes, it’s seasonal to climb into the mid-90s in Washington, D.C., in August. But not unheard of to have high temperatures in just the mid-70s like this year. Those are the anomalies. The same with Congress. The typical “seasonal” temperature on Capitol Hill always spikes toward 100 degrees. Even during the frigid calendar days of January and February. To wit: There were raucous episodes on Capitol Hill in the mid 1990s after Republicans seized control of the House, which nearly devolved into fistfights. A national tragedy didn’t spur the contretemps. It was an electoral one. That fueled a visceral distrust between Republicans and Democrats. It was augmented by the fact that Republicans won control of the House in 1994 for the first time in four decades. Results at the ballot box sparked those skirmishes. But it was violence and calamity that stoked many of the embers on Capitol Hill. Members sought to quiet things after two Capitol Police officers were shot and killed in 1998. But the temperature shot back up. The same with 9/11. The fourth plane that eventually crashed in Shanksville, Pa., was destined for the U.S. Capitol. After the immediate threat subsided, bipartisan members gathered on the Capitol steps and spontaneously sang God Bless America. That moment emerged as an indelible, uplifting moment on one of the most horrific days in American history. SQUAD MEMBER GIVES BLUNT RESPONSE WHEN ASKED WHY DEMS ARE CELEBRATING POLITICAL VIOLENCE AFTER KIRK’S DEATH But the temperature shot back up. Tea party protesters encircled the Capitol in 2010 as Democrats attempted to pass Obamacare. Vile phone calls and threats flooded congressional phone lines. Lawmakers called for calm in an effort to quiet the vitriol. But the temperature shot back up. A gunman killed six people and seriously wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and future Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., in 2011. Members dialed back the rhetoric. But the temperature shot back up. Capitol Police officers were injured during a high-speed chase around the congressional complex during the 2013 government shutdown. Lawmakers again demanded calm. In fact, lawmakers found the injury of the officers working to protect them – yet not receiving a paycheck – so sobering that it prompted them to re-open the government. But the temperature shot back up. A gunman shot House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., during a congressional baseball practice in 2017, in Alexandria, Va. TED CRUZ SAYS HATE SPEECH ‘ABSOLUTELY’ PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION People chilled out. But the temperature shot back up. The Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol is one of the most onerous days in congressional history. Leaders again insisted on peace. However, there was nearly a fistfight in the rear of the chamber not long after the House reconvened after the mayhem in the wee hours of Jan. 7. Again came the demands for you know what. But the temperature shot back up. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is the latest congressional leader to face the arduous task to lower the temperature after the assassination of Kirk. House members bowed their heads in a moment of silence. When Johnson rapped the gavel, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., asked Johnson for a verbal prayer. She said silent prayer didn’t get results. GOP UNVEILS PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, INCLUDES $30M SECURITY HIKE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK KILLING “Is there someone who could lead us in a moment of prayer out loud for Charlie and his family?” inquired Boebert as Johnson tried to shush the chamber. She also mentioned “victims in Colorado,” referring to a shooting at a Colorado high school the same day. Grumbling and groans filled the chamber as Boebert tried to speak. “Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Johnson said from the dais. “The House will be in order.” Johnson tried to quiet the sniping back and forth across the aisle. “The House will be in order!” hollered Johnson as the din rose in the chamber. Both Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., continued yelling. “The House will be in order!” thundered a now angry Johnson. The speaker slammed down the gavel and stared daggers toward the Democratic side of the chamber. HOUSE REPUBLICANS HONOR CHARLIE KIRK WHILE DEM LEADERS SKIP CAPITOL PRAYER VIGIL You see the pattern. It is seemingly always the same on Capitol Hill. The pattern never seems to change. Yes, you may have days in the 70s during the dog days of August in Washington. But the temperature eventually returns to the upper 90s. That’s the political norm on Capitol Hill. The question is, “Will it ever change?” It’s hard to see things “changing.” If they were going to “change,” that probably would have happened after 9/11, the Giffords attack, the baseball practice shooting or Jan. 6. Any one of those catastrophes could have served as an impetus to “change” things on Capitol Hill.  One would think. But there’s been no change in the political climate. That’s partially because there’s been so much turnover

House Dem warns both sides on ‘road to ruin’ as political divide deepens over Kirk assassination

House Dem warns both sides on ‘road to ruin’ as political divide deepens over Kirk assassination

EXCLUSIVE: A moderate House Democrat said he believes both Republicans and his own party have fallen short in their responses to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. “I’m disappointed. I wish that there was more effort as a group, Democrats and Republicans, to express condolences for his family and for him, and to express the real sadness that it engenders,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital in an interview.  He warned later, “Punch, counter-punch is the natural reaction of most human beings. But we can’t just keep on doing this. It’s very destructive, and it’s a road to ruin.” Suozzi said he believed leaders, in particular, on both sides of the aisle needed to do more. ABC REPORTER CALLS CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN’S TEXT MESSAGES WITH TRANSGENDER PARTNER ‘VERY TOUCHING’ “I don’t think there’s been enough of an effort to try and bring us together,” he said. The New York lawmaker was one of a handful of Democrats who attended a memorial vigil in Kirk’s honor called by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the U.S. Capitol on Monday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters that he did not attend because he “had a meeting.” But Suozzi said he spoke with several House Democrats who said they simply were not aware it was happening. “I’m not casting blame on anybody, Democrats or Republicans. I don’t know the facts as far as what kind of outreach was made,” Suozzi said. SCRUTINY INTENSIFIES OVER SECURITY LAPSES SURROUNDING THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING “I do know that I spoke to several members, you know, [Democrats] that I know that attend the bipartisan prayer breakfast, for example. And they said, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know about it.’” Both Jeffries and Johnson have made calls for unity in the wake of Kirk’s killing last week, and lawmakers have expressed bipartisan condemnation of political violence. But partisan tensions have erupted since then, with Republicans blaming Democrats for their anti-GOP rhetoric and for fomenting the political tension that led to Kirk’s death. Democrats, in turn, have accused Republicans of similarly inflaming tensions both before and after the assassination. In the House, scrutiny has been centered on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after an interview with progressive news outlet Zeteo, where conservatives have accused her of disparaging Kirk’s legacy days after his death. “There are a lot of people who are out there talking about him just wanting to have a civil debate,” Omar said. “There is nothing more effed up, you know, like, than to completely pretend that, you know, his words and actions have not been recorded and in existence for the last decade or so.” The Minnesota progressive also called Kirk’s death “mortifying” and expressed condolences for his wife and young children. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is now moving to force a vote to censure Omar for her comments, a move Suozzi called “very unhelpful.” When asked about Omar’s remarks, Suozzi did not mention her directly but said, “I just don’t think that this is the time to be trying to incite more anger for people.” If he was able to give remarks at Kirk’s vigil, for example, Suozzi said, “I would say I didn’t really know Charlie Kirk or much about him before this incident. But like everybody, I’ve been seeing all the media reports since his assassination, and I saw a couple different times people would ask, ‘What, what would you want to be remembered for?’ And he said, ‘I want to be remembered for having the courage to live my faith.’” “One of the most difficult concepts that Jesus ever had was to love your enemies,” Suozzi said. “And that’s what we need to be doing right now.” Suozzi also blamed the current social media environment for fueling divisions. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We have to understand that there are very strong forces working against us right now. Social media is, you know, being corrupted, I think, not only by our foreign adversaries, but also by people trying to get political or financial gain,” he said. “I think that we have to be very conscious of the fact that there are people that use our freedom of speech and use our social media … that are just lying and putting up doctored videos and explosive commentary to get us … to hate each other.”