GOP Congressman Reveals Shocking Way Members of Congress Use Their Offices
Republican Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri said some of his congressional colleagues are so terrified of the runaway crime in the nation’s capital that they sleep in their offices for fear of being attacked or murdered on the streets.
Burlison made the shocking remarks Wednesday during an interview with radio host Todd Starnes on his eponymous podcast.
Starnes mentioned that Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was robbed and carjacked at gunpoint on Monday in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, where multiple members of Congress live.
“How dangerous is it in Washington?” he asked.
“It’s very dangerous,” Burlison replied. “I mean, it’s insane to even own a car in D.C. because wherever you park, it is going to cost you a fortune and it’s likely to get broken into and you’re likely to get carjacked.”
The congressman continued: “You know, we hunker down in the Capitol building. … It’s a security calculation to actually sleep in your office.”
A stunned Starnes followed up by asking, “You’re telling me that it’s so dangerous in Washington that some of these lawmakers are actually sleeping in their offices?”
“Yeah,” Burlison said. “I mean, Todd, I don’t want to walk back and forth from an apartment in D.C. at night or in the early morning to get to work. It’s not a safe environment.”
The discussion starts below around the 44-minute mark:
The glaring irony of lawmakers worrying they’ll be victimized by criminals in the nation’s capital defies credulity.
If the United States under President Joe Biden weren’t a total clown show, this wouldn’t be tolerated. The epicenter of national politics should be among the safest places in the country.
“It’s shocking,” Starnes said. “I think I have to imagine people listening to this, congressman, are just dumbfounded that things are that bad in Washington, D.C. I know Sen. Mike Lee last night was tweeting that maybe it’s time to take back control of the district.”
Burlison blamed the rampant lawlessness on “progressive leftists” who push toxic, soft-on-crime policies.
Crime in D.C. has skyrocketed, mirroring a sickening trend metastasizing in other Democrat-run cities such as Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco and Chicago.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, violent crimes in Washington are up 40 percent year over year, with robberies up 70 percent and homicides up 38 percent. Car theft has risen 105 percent.
It is a pitiful reflection of the appalling state of the nation that not even our elected officials are safe from crime. Surely, this is not the country our Founding Fathers had envisioned.
In February, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was assaulted in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building.
In March, a staffer of Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was stabbed while walking down a Washington street with a friend.
By now, it’s painfully obvious that criminals are equal-opportunity offenders. Democrats should acknowledge that emboldening and incentivizing thuggery with their lax policies is endangering the public — and themselves.
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