Rep. Dan Crenshaw Fined $5,000 by House Ethics Committee For Violating Pelosi Rule

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw is now $5,000 poorer than he was at this time last week, and it appears that he has only himself to blame.

The House Ethics Committee announced that Crenshaw refused to go through Congressional metal detectors and as a result received a significant fine from his Congressional paycheck. Rules are rules.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced fines for members of Congress who refused to go through metal detectors roughly a week after the events of January 6th amid security concerns and reports that some members of Congress were bringing handguns into the House chamber. Speaker Pelosi’s statement read in part:

“On behalf of the House, I express my deepest gratitude to the U.S. Capitol Police for the valor that they showed during the deadly insurrection on the Capitol, as they protected the lives of the staff and the Congress.

“Sadly, just days later, many House Republicans have disrespected our heroes by verbally abusing them and refusing to adhere to basic precautions keeping members of our Congressional community, including the Capitol Police, safe. The House will soon move forward with a rule change imposing fines on those who refuse to abide by these protections. The fine for the first offense will be $5,000 and $10,000 for the second offense. The fines will be deducted directly from Members’ salaries by the Chief Administrative Officer.

Crenshaw is a Republican and former Navy SEAL who has served Texas 2nd Congressional district since 2019. It is not clear why Crenshaw avoided the metal detectors. He has not commented on the fine yet on his Twitter feed.

Read the House Ethics Committee press release below:

Statement of the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics Regarding Representative Dan Crenshaw
Sep 29, 2021 Press Release
Pursuant to Committee Rule 7, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics (Committee) determined to release the following statement:

On September 27, 2021, the Committee received a notification from the Office of the Sergeant at Arms that Representative Dan Crenshaw has been fined pursuant to House Resolution 73. Pursuant to Section 1(a)(3) of House Resolution 73, the Committee hereby publishes the fine notification.

The Committee notes that the mandatory publication of a fine notification does not itself reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee. Pursuant to Section 1(b)(1) of House Resolution 73, Representative Crenshaw may appeal the fine to the Committee. Upon a determination regarding any appeal or if no appeal is received within 30 days of the Member’s notification of the fine, the Committee will make a further public statement regarding this matter. In order to comply with Committee Rule 7 regarding confidentiality, the Committee will refrain from making further public statements until that time.