Republican New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew trolled Democratic New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman when he yelled out “Nobody Pull A Fire Alarm!” before he voted in Tuesday’s motion to vacate Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chair.
Bowman pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building prior to Saturday night’s House vote to avoid a government shutdown. The Congressman has been in political hot water since the incident, with many House Republicans calling to censure or even remove him from Congress entirely.
Bowman, a former school principal, claimed the signs confused him and insists he wasn’t trying to delay the vote.
Lmfao Rep. Jeff Van Drew voted no on ousting McCarthy and then said “nobody pull a fire alarm” pic.twitter.com/yER5faSW26
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 3, 2023
Van Drew was voting on Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’ motion to vacate McCarthy’s Speaker of the House position. The motion passed 216-210 after seven other House Republicans voted yes with Gaetz and House Democrats. Van Drew was not one of them, voting “no” after his joke.
The seven Republicans who joined House Democrats in ousting McCarthy were Bob Good, Tim Burchett, Eli Crane, Matt Rosendale, Andy Biggs, Ken Buck and Nancy Mace. (RELATED: Republican Rep Jeff Van Drew Defends New Jersey Second Congressional District Seat)
Van Drew, despite voting no on the Saturday stopgap bill, still backed McCarthy for speaker.
The New Jersey Rep. switched parties in 2019, leaving the Democratic Party for the GOP.