Many of the members of Congress who voted “no” are well known for their own security.
Ahead of the highly anticipated decision that could overturn Roe v Wade, the House passed a bill on Tuesday to will increase security for Supreme Court justices’ families. However, 27 Democrats voting against the bill, less than a week after a man was arrested for allegedly planning to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
According to Fox News, the bill, which is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk, will provide 24-hour protection for the families of Supreme Court justices, in a similar manner to some members of the executive and legislative branches.
The House voted 396-27, to approve the measure that had already been passed by unanimously in the Senate in May just days after the leak of the draft Supreme Court decision which could overturn Roe v. Wade.
22 of those members voted in favor of extra security for themselves after the riot at the Capitol on January 6.
“Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who both voted against Tuesday’s bill, were among a group of Democrats who sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the weeks following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot demanding an increase to their Members’ Representational Allowances, or MRAs, to pay for personal security in their home districts by hiring local law enforcement and other personnel,” Fox reports.
The Democrats who opposed the bill argued that it also needed to include protection for court staff, including clerks, and their families. Those who voted no were Representatives Joyce Beatty (OH), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY), Cori Bush (Mo) Veronica Escobar (TX) Adriano Espaillat (NY), Chuy Garcia (IL), Sylvia Garcia, (TX), Joyce Beatty (OH), Jamaal Bowman (NY), Joshua Gottheimer (NJ), Raúl Grijalva (AZ), Steven Horsford (NV), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Brenda Lawrence (MI), Barbara Lee (CA), Tom Malinowski (NJ), Marie Newman (IL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Bill Pascrell (NJ), Donald Payne (NJ), Ed Perlmutter (CO), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Mikie Sherrill (NJ), Albio Sires (NJ), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Norma Torres (CA), Nydia Velazquez (NY), Maxine Waters (CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ)
Many of the members of Congress who voted “no” are well known for their own security. According to Fox News, Rep. Cori Bush spent more than $300,000 on private security even as she continues calls to defund the police.
Rep. Maxine Waters has previously called for violence against elected officials. In June of 2018, Waters instructed a crowd to harass Trump administration officials saying, “Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere. We’ve got to get the children connected to their parents.”
She also called for protests and violence in anticipation of the Derek Chauvin verdict.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said regarding her vote to block the bill in an Instagram video on Saturday, “I wake up this morning and I start to hear murmurs that there is going to be an attempt to pass the Supreme Court supplemental protection bill the day after gun safety legislation for schools and kids and people is stalled.”
She added, “Oh, so we can pass protections for us and here easily, right? But we can’t pass protections for everyday people? I think not.”
