Pelosi blocks reading the names of 13 slain U.S. troops on House floor
Thomas McDonald
|
GOP House members are blasting Speaker Pelosi’s decision to block the reading of names of the 13 U.S. service members who were killed in Afghanistan on the House floor.
“How badly do Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats want to cover up this Afghanistan debacle? They just blocked Members of Congress from reading the names of the service members who sacrificed their lives in Afghanistan last week,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) tweeted on Tuesday.
“Don’t you think our military deserves better?” he continued.
Florida Rep. Brian Mast (R), a wounded combat veteran from Afghanistan, said Pelosi “closed the House down” after requesting to read the names.
“We gaveled in, had a prayer, said the Pledge of Allegiance, took a moment of silence with pretty much all Republican veterans, then asked to be recognized to read names and bring up Afghanistan legislation,” Mast said in an interview.
“They did not acknowledge us and just closed the House down,” Mast added.
“House Democrats just refused to recognize Republican veterans on the House Floor to read the names of our fallen service members in Afghanistan,” Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) tweeted.
“That’s how far our nation has fallen,” he added.
Pelosi’s refusal to read the fallen soldier’s names comes as President Biden was widely criticized for appearing to disrespect the Gold Star families during the dignified transfer as Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.
One Gold Star mom, Shana Chappell, whose son Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui died in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport, claimed Biden “rolled” his eyes at her while meeting at the dignified transfer on Sunday. Chappell said Biden also threw his hands in the air and walked away from her in a Facebook post about the incident.
RELATED: Gold Star Mom slams Biden’s behavior during dignified transfer of 13 slain U.S. service members: ‘Rolled’ his ‘f***ing eyes’
Slain Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum’s mother, Kathy McCollum, slammed the President in a radio interview, saying, “That feckless, dementia-ridden piece of crap[Joe Biden] just sent my son to die.”
“That’s what kills me. I wanted my son to represent our country, to fight for my country, McCollum continued. “But I never thought that a feckless piece of crap would send him to his death and smirk on television while he’s talking about people dying with his nasty smirk. The dementia-ridden piece of crap needs to be removed from office.”
“It never would have happened under Trump,” she added.
White House Press Secretary Jenn Psaki was asked about Biden’s alleged rude behavior towards the Gold Star families, as well as accusations that he was continuously checking his watch during the dignified transfer.
“Some of the Gold Star families have criticized the president’s conduct at the dignified transfer,” Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich told the press secretary during Tuesday’s briefing. “There was a father of one Marine who said the president shouldn’t be checking his watch every time a flag-draped transport case came by the plane. And a sister of another Marine said that it felt like a fake and scripted apology.”
Heinrich then asked, “Was the president looking at his watch, and does he have a message for those people who felt that they were offended?”
Psaki refused to answer the question directly, instead issued a statement to the families who felt disrespected.
“Well, I would say his message to all of the family members, who were there, those who were not even in attendance, is that he is grateful to their sons and daughters, the sacrifice that they made to the country,” Psaki responded. “That he knows firsthand what it’s like to lose a child and the fact no one can tell you anything, or say anything, that there’s no words that are going to fill that hole that is left by that.”
“He’s not, and I’m not going to speak to the private conversations. Of course, they have the right to convey whatever they would like,” Psaki continued. “But I will tell you, from spending a lot of time with him over the last couple of days, that he was deeply impacted by these family members who he met just two days ago. That he talks about them frequently in meetings and the incredible service of their sons and daughters. That is not going to change their suffering, but I wanted to convey that still.”