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As the 117th Congress began this week, the world watched as a mob stormed the United States Capitol. I was on the floor of the United States House of Representatives ready for a critical debate about free and fair elections as the Capitol was breached. I was one of the last to leave the chamber.
This was nothing short of anarchy and I condemn it strongly.
We lost a member of the Capitol Police due to the violence that day. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died defending the heart of American democracy. He is a hero and we are praying for his family and friends, and all law enforcement.
Congress continued our work for the American people, though. Once the Capitol was secure, we returned to continue our duty of certifying the electoral votes from each state.
In this episode of Buddy's Briefing, I reflect on Wednesday, explain why I objected to the certification of some electoral votes, discuss the beginning of the 117th Congress, and more.
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| from our nation's capitol CCXCIV |
Sunday, January 3, 2021: The 20th Amendment to the Constitution established noon on the 3rd day of January as the initial meeting date of each newly-elected Congress. After flying up this morning, I head to Statuary Hall in the Capitol where I pick up my voting card and other materials. I’m in the House Chamber at noon as we begin the 117th U.S. Congress through a quorum call conducted by the Clerk of the House. This is one of the rare occasions where each member votes present. We begin today with 433 members eligible to take the oath of office. Two seats, NY-22 where the race has still not been called and LA-1 where Representative-elect Luke Letlow (R-LA) tragically died last week, are still empty. Although a few members are not here - primarily because of COVID-19 - the breakdown at this point is 222 Democratic and 211 Republican.
Rep. Carter signs the oath of office |
Once a quorum has been established, we vote for Speaker and, as expected, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is re-elected Speaker. After she is sworn in by the Dean of the House, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) who has been a member of Congress since 1973, she then traditionally swears in the other members of Congress. Because of COVID-19 precautions, only new members are allowed to have guests in the balcony. They are to be sworn in first and the returning members are to be sworn in in groups. However, a motion is made not to seat the new members from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin because of election integrity questions in those states. Immediately after the motion is made, a motion is made to dispense with the measure. That motion to table passes and we continue with the swearing in ceremony. After I am sworn in by the Speaker, I go back to Statuary Hall where I sign my oath of office. Later in the afternoon, I have a live interview with Fox News to discuss the Georgia Senate run-off elections to be held on Tuesday.
Monday, January 4, 2021: After our daily all-staff conference call, I head to the House Chamber for our first vote of the day. Today is the day that we adopt the rules package that will govern our activities in the House this session. Since the first Congress, the minority party has had the right to recommit a bill to the Rules Committee with instructions to amend it before the House votes on it for final passage. The Democrats have proposed essentially eliminating this essential minority right. A motion is made this morning by Republicans to table discussion of the rules package but does not pass, therefore debate continues. Once back in my office, I meet with my senior staff to discuss the issues we are facing this week before meeting with some of my House colleagues to discuss issues. Afterwards, I head back to the House Chamber where we have our second vote series then, after returning to my office, return to the House Chamber for our third and final vote series of the day. Later in the evening, I head to the studios of Fox News downtown where I have a live interview to discuss tomorrow's Senate runoff elections in Georgia.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021: After doing 1020 push ups in 1 hour this morning with my friends and House colleagues Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NY), I head to the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC) for our GOP Conference meeting where we discuss tomorrows vote certifying the electoral college from each state. Next, I join in on a Tri-Caucus (comprised of the Congressional Black-, Hispanic-, and Asian-Pacific Islanders Caucuses) and bipartisan briefing with doctors from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to discuss promoting COVID-19 vaccination and adoption for all Americans. Afterwards, I head downtown to the Fox News studios where I have a live interview to discuss today’s Georgia Senate runoffs and tomorrow’s vote on certifying the Electoral College from each state. Once back on Capitol Hill, I head to the House Chamber for our first and only vote series of the day then head back to my office where I have a virtual call with Americans for Fair Taxation to discuss the Fair Tax legislation I am the leading this session. After our daily all-staff conference call, I head to a meeting of the Georgia congressional delegation and, later in the evening, I am honored to speak to students from the University of South Carolina School of Pharmacy in a virtual meeting. My last event of the day is a live interview on Newsmax at 10:15 p.m. where I discuss the early returns of the Georgia Senate runoffs and tomorrows legislative agenda. A link to my interview can be found here.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021: I’m up early this morning as I am live on Fox Business at 6:00 a.m. to discuss the Georgia Senate runoff results as well as the electoral certification today. A link to my interview can be found here. Later in the morning, I have a phone call with Dr. Lawton Davis, Health Director of the Coastal Health District of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the First District. After our daily all-staff conference call, I have an interview with WTOC-TV in Savannah to discuss results of the Georgia Senate runoffs. Afterwards, I join in on a conference call to discuss the SolarWinds Hack before heading down to the House Chamber for certification of the electoral votes from each state. We have been warned to avoid being outside because of the protestors and as we begin our vote certification, we can hear the protestors outside. After the Speaker gavels us in, she welcomes the Senators to this joint session and relinquishes the gavel to Vice President Mike Pence, the President of the Senate. After accepting the electoral votes from Alabama and Alaska, a House member and Senator both object to accepting the electoral votes from Arizona. As is in the rules, the Senate then goes back to their chambers to debate the issue and we stay in the House to debate. During the debate, the protestors outside can be heard getting louder and louder. After about 15 minutes of civil debate, the Capitol Hill police enter the House Chamber, lock us inside and inform us that the Capitol has been breached by the protestors. Next, they escort the Speaker and other leaders from the House Chamber and then lead members out and through tunnels to an undisclosed location for our safety. I am one of the last ones to leave the Chamber and I leave with mixed emotions. I am very sad because of what I am witnessing, but I am also mad as hell at the protestors for what they are doing. This type of behavior has no place in our society and those responsible should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We are carrying on a civil debate of a very important issue, which is our responsibility and our job. The destruction and lawlessness displayed by these protestors hurts their own purported purpose and destroys what we are trying to achieve by having a civil debate. Once we are in our secured location, all of us - Democrats, Republicans and Independents - are terribly upset by these developments. After notifying family members of my safety, I have a number of phone interviews with district media to report on my experiences. After being hunkered down in the undisclosed location for almost five hours, the Capitol is secured, and we head back to the House Chamber and continue with our work. I am very proud that we did not let the protestors stop our work but instead we gaveled back in at 9:00 p.m. and worked until almost 4:00 a.m. the next morning having civil debate and finishing our work. You can hear more about the experience, how I voted, and my thoughts on the 117th Congress in this week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefing.
Thursday, January 7, 2021: After a little over 3 hours of sleep, I’m on the radio this morning with my good friend Bill Edwards with NewsTalk 1290 in Savannah to discuss the events of yesterday. Next, I film a video reflecting on Wednesday and explaining my votes. A link to that video can be found here. Next, I have a virtual interview with WTOC-TV in Savannah to discuss the events of yesterday, followed by our daily all-staff conference call. Afterwards, I have a series of interviews to discuss yesterday’s events beginning with WCTV in Tallahassee, then WJCL-TV and WSAV-TV in Savannah. A link to some of today’s interviews can be found here and here.
Rep. Carter speaks with WSB-TV |
Next, I head outside of the Rayburn office building where I have an interview with WSB-TV in Atlanta. A link to that interview can be found here. Finally, I film this week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefing before ending what has been one of the saddest times of my life. What I witnessed this week in our Nation’s Capitol was despicable, maddening and heartbreaking. My hope is that those responsible for this will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This type of behavior has no place in our society and I condemn it. |
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