Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attends a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 28, 2022.
Mary F. Calvert | Reuters
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke Sunday about his experience during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, stating that he, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “were resolute” about calling in the military and continuing the electoral vote count.
“Speaker Pelosi and I were resolute that first the military should come in and remove people from the Capitol. The Capitol Police were overwhelmed,” Schumer said according to reports from NBC News. “And we called the Secretary of Defense. We call[ed] the governors of Virginia and Maryland who had national guard as well as the D.C. police and urge[d] them to send reinforcements to the Capitol to make sure that these hooligans were removed.”
Schumer’s account follows the Jan. 6 House select committee’s ninth public hearing Thursday afternoon, where members took a broad look at the findings from its investigation, interspersed with new clips and information.
The hearing showed new clips of Pelosi and others calling multiple Trump administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, to urge them to take action to quell the riot as they hid from the mob that overran the Capitol.
Some of the footage, captured by Pelosi’s daughter, showed Schumer and other members of Congress running to a secure location, according to NBC News.
Schumer said that one good moment from the day came when Republicans and Democrats came together and decided to continue counting the electoral vote.
“One good moment was when the four leaders, two Democrats and two Republicans got together at about five o’clock and said we are not going to let these hooligans stop the government process,” he said. “They would have succeeded. If we would have delayed counting the electoral vote, lord knows what would have happened.”
The House select committee unanimously voted Thursday to subpoena former President Donald Trump about his actions surrounding the insurrection in a move that has been under consideration for some time.
The vote marks the boldest step yet for the bipartisan panel, which has so far issued more than 100 subpoenas and interviewed more than 1,000 people throughout its investigation.