Pelosi wants security money to face 'enemy' within House

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers face threats of violence from an "enemy" within Congress, and more money is needed to protect them, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, a startling acknowledgment of escalating internal tensions over safety since this month's Capitol attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

The California Democrat's remarks came as the acting chief of the Capitol Police said separately that "vast improvements" are needed to protect the Capitol and adjacent office buildings, including permanent fencing. Such barricades have ringed the complex since the deadly Jan. 6 riot, but many lawmakers have long resisted giving the nation's symbol of democracy the look of a besieged compound, and leaders were noncommittal about the idea.

Pelosi focused her comments on the anxiety and partisan frictions that have persisted in Congress since Trump supporters' assault on the Capitol, which led to five deaths. She told reporters she thinks Congress will need to provide money "for more security for members, when the enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about."

https://www.startribune.com/pelosi-wants-security-money-to-face-enemy-within-house/600016167/