It’s second nature for Congressman John B. Larson to call upon pivotal moments in the history of the United States, and the courage of those who led the nation when America was put to the test.
As well he should, having served as a teacher of history at the former George J. Penney High School here in East Hartford.
But Wednesday afternoon, having been evacuated from the floor of the House of Representatives where the 117th session of Congress had just gathered to debate questions of certifying the 2020 Presidential Electors, no precedent could provide a history lesson for what was happening in the nation’s Capitol building.
“It’s not every day do you have the President of the United States inciting a riot, attacking his vice president and come into direct conflict with the majority leader of the senate,” related Larson from the safety of his Longworth House Building office. First to call to check in on his safety were members of his family, then other constituents. Larson’s staff are mostly working remotely so were spared the swift evacuation.
The responsibility of certifying the Electoral College vote falls upon the senate. But after questions arose about Arizona’s electors the House and Senate adjourned to their respective chambers for debate when a large group of protestors, spurred on at a rally by President Donald J. Trump, marched up the steps of the Capitol building, smashed windows and doors and took over the rotunda and both chambers of Congress. One woman was killed and 22 injured.
Just before the attack Senate Republican Majority leader Mitch McConnell gave a pointed speech directed at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who led a group of Republicans questioning the fairness of the individual state elections processes.
“Mitch McConnell’s speech was one of the best I ever heard,” said the East Hartford Democrat who just began his 12th two-year term representing the towns of Connecticut’s First Congressional District. “It’s fair to say, politically, that Mitch McConnell and I don’t have a lot in common. But what he did – and he was looking directly at Ted Cruz. He was so upset with what’s being done with the questioning of the results of the election; of the Republican judges (most of whom were appointed by Trump) found no fraud. Everything was done legally. He was just sad as an American.”
Larson also listened to President Trump’s remarks to the crowd gathered outside on the mall adjacent to the White House.
“Trump’s behavior was to throw gasoline onto the fire. Like all crowds, most were just there to support the President. But then you have QAnon believers and Proud Boys joining in. The President believes the election was stolen. Now we have 14 more days of ‘who knows?'” Later in a statement Larson said “I encourage Vice President Pence and the cabinet to proceed with the 25th Amendment. I am very concerned about President Trump’s ability to govern our country over these next 14 days.”
Transfixed along with the rest of the nation and world with the storming of the U.S. Capitol Larson waited in his office to be called back to vote on the debate over elector certification, normally a perfunctory and largely ceremonial process involving only the U.S. Senate – until this year. Nursing a cold, he was appreciative of the Capitol police who moved quickly to protect the elected officials first and remove them from harm’s way. Until Wednesday, security in the nation’s Capitol had been taken for granted. But threats and turmoil prompted the District’s National Guard to be placed on active duty Tuesday. Then there was an open letter from a group of former national security directors and Pentagon leaders was published in the New York Times urging the military to resist abetting armed insurrection.
But the Capitol police were overwhelmed by the protestors – or rioters – and the National Guard was missing during the storming of the building. By statute the President commands any National Guard forces called up within the District – as Trump did during protests held in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Asked if the Presidential Inauguration scheduled for January 20 outdoors can be held safely, Larson noted that he believes it can be, but COVID-19 has already scaled the ceremony down. The riotous actions of Trump’s supporters now risk turning the event into a security nightmare.
“I don’t think Joe Biden will forego an inauguration,” said Congressman Larson. “But you don’t know what Trump will do. I don’t think they want the nation’s Capitol to turn into a military encampment.”
Larson will be taking office as Democrats gained re-ascendancy thanks to the interference of the President into the Georgia elections process as two close runoffs were being held for two U.S. Senate seats. Republican incumbents lost both races giving the Democrats the majority in the Senate and boosting President-elect Biden’s ability to enact his agenda. For Larson top of that list would be investing billions in infrastructure projects, such as his idea to rework the highway bottlenecks in and around Hartford. Those were the types of investments Trump promised, but never delivered.
Present events aside, Larson has worked with his Congressional colleagues long enough to understand what it takes to accomplish something.
“It comes down to leadership. With good leaders, good things will happen.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal also reacted to the violence in the U.S. Capitol.
“My staff and I are safe at a secure location. I am absolutely sickened by scenes of anarchist mobs violently swarming the Capitol. It’s not a protest – its armed insurrection. This is an assault on the heart of our democracy incited and fueled by the President of the United States and his enablers. Make no mistake: Congress will do its job. This election will still be certified, and President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will be sworn in on January 20.”
