Republicans Demand Pelosi Be Fined $5,000 for Skirting Her Own Metal Detector Rule

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) (C) talks to reporters outside the West Wing in Washington on Feb. 5, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Republicans from the Committee on House Administration on Friday requested that the House Sergeant at Arms impose a fine on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for breaking her own rule by allegedly bypassing a metal detector on her way into the House chamber.

“Yesterday, at approximately 9:59 a.m., multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House chamber without completing a security screening,” Republican Reps. Rodney Davis (Ill.), Barry Loudermilk (Ga.) and Bryan Steil (Wisc.) wrote in a letter to Acting House Sergeant at Arms Timothy Blodgett.

“What was observed was a clear violation of House Resolution 73 and you are required by House Rules to impose this fine. Please inform us once the fine has been assessed.”

Pelosi’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The speaker put the rule in place specifically targeting a handful of Republicans who have spoken about legally carrying firearms on the House floor. The fine for the first offense is $5,000.

The Office of the Sergeant at Arms didn’t respond to a request for comment. Blodgett told The Hill that he has not received a complaint about the matter from the Capitol Police.

“House Sergeant at Arms imposes the fine after receiving an unusual occurrence report from the United States Capitol Police (USCP). An unusual incident report from the Capitol Police is appended to the document sent to the Member providing notice of the fine,” Blodgett wrote to The Hill.

“Only the USCP can determine whether an individual has failed to complete security screening as only the USCP has sufficient training to determine compliance with USCP screening procedures. I have directed that the USCP produce and provide unusual incident reports on any individual who fails to complete security screening without exception. I have not received any unusual incident report from the USCP concerning the Speaker of the House.”

The text of the resolution does not require a report from the USCP for a fine to be imposed but does authorize the sergeant at arms to establish policies and procedures to implement the resolution.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), who was himself fined $5,000 for violating the resolution, wrote on Twitter, “Why isn’t the Speaker of the House being fined for skirting the metal detector?”

“Speaker Pelosi made the rules. She must live by her rules like everyone else,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) wrote on Twitter.