Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy denounced as ‘two-faced’ by Brian Sicknick’s mother at Congressional Gold Medal event
Senior Republicans Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy were snubbed by law enforcement leaders and a fallen officer’s family at Tuesday’s Congressional Gold Medal award ceremony for Capitol police who defended against the 6 January attacks.
The pair were denounced as “two-faced” by the mother of Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after a mob of Donald Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol building and forced politicians to flee for their lives.
McConnell, the Senate minority leader, was caught on video with his hand outstretched, waiting in line for handshakes that never came as senior officers and Sicknick’s parents warmly greeted the Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer.
The relatives and officers in uniform then walked straight past the Republican duo, barely looking at them.
Sicknick’s brother, Ken, was also forthright. “They have no idea what integrity is. They can’t stand up for what’s right and wrong,” he said.
For example, during the ceremony, McConnell touted the bravery of the officers who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6. “Because of your bravery and professionalism, Congress finished our job that very night,” he said. “Because you honored your oaths to support and defend the Constitution, we were able to honor ours. That is a reality that was made especially clear 23 months ago. But it is true every single day.” And McCarthy said, “Too many people take that for granted, but days like today force us to realize how much we owe the thin blue line.” But it’s not hard to see how the sentiments are perceived as disingenuous when McCarthy has walked back his initial statements calling on Trump to take responsibility for what happened on Jan. 6 and has refused to cooperate with his colleagues on the House select committee investigating what happened that day. When he was asked by the committee in January to voluntarily provide information about his communication with the White House, he responded by describing the committee’s work as an “abuse of power that stains this institution today and will harm it going forward.”
NBC
The Guardian and NBC News