Democrats slowed-rolled the start of Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee by objecting to having to say the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of committee hearings.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) introduced an amendment to have the committee recite the Pledge of Allegiance before every meeting. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) immediately spoke out against the measure.
“Now, I would oppose it simply on the grounds that, as members know, we pledge allegiance every day on the floor. And I don't know why we should pledge allegiance twice in the same day to show how patriotic we are,” Nadler argued.
Nadler was quickly called out by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) , “I've not seen Mr. Nadler on the floor when the pledge is done and most members are not present there."
“So it's not accurate to say we do the pledge every day or participate in the pledge every day. It may be offered, but you're not there for it. This is the work of the Judiciary Committee. This is the committee that has the charge of defending the Constitution and our fundamental freedoms and defending the very freedoms that the flag represents. And so it's a bit absurd to suggest we couldn't take 30 seconds at the beginning of this important work to do what should be done by all Americans. And so I think this is entirely appropriate.”
Related: Rep. Jerry Nadler Calls For Feds To Go After Rittenhouse - For Things He Didn’t Do
Democrats continued to contest the measure by bringing up January 6th and offering amendments to prevent certain legislators they don't like from leading the pledge (yes, really).
Would you believe me if I said the first half hour of our @JudiciaryGOP hearing has been wasted because Democrats oppose saying the pledge of allegiance?
— Congressman Jeff Van Drew (@Congressman_JVD) February 1, 2023
After continued debate and even more Democratic resistance - the "Pledge" measure did eventually pass.
It’s going to be a long year in Washington.
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