Listen To Story Above
A heated exchange broke out during a House Oversight Committee hearing today between Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Squad member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) during discussions about sanctuary city policies.
The morning session featured testimony from several sanctuary city mayors, including Boston’s Michelle Wu, Chicago’s Brandon Johnson, Denver’s Mike Johnston, and New York’s Eric Adams, regarding their positions on cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
The confrontation occurred in the afternoon when Pressley attempted to submit articles into the record. While Comer initially granted unanimous consent for the submission, tensions escalated when Pressley began reading the contents aloud instead of following standard procedure of quietly submitting them.
NEW: Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. James Comer get into a screaming match after Pressley tried entering an article into the record.
Pressley: "Data from Texas shows that US-born Americans commit more r*pe and mu*der than immigrants."
Comer: "This trend of you all trying to get… pic.twitter.com/0nioQuFSaO
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 5, 2025
As Pressley started reading, “in 2018, data from Texas shows that US-born,” Comer immediately interjected, demanding she simply submit the document. When Pressley persisted, attempting to read another article about crime statistics, Comer forcefully intervened.
“No!” Comer exclaimed. “This trend of you all trying to get thrown out of committee and get on MSNBC is going to end!”
This rebuke triggered an intense response from Pressley, who began shouting about her procedural rights as a committee member. The congresswoman became particularly emotional, raising her voice to declare, “I take particular umbrage as a survivor of sexual violence! I will enter into the record this is my right! Thank you!”
Food for thought: If you have to publicly announce that you left a room, chances are no one cared you were there to begin with. https://t.co/JwtCszBZ6Q
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 5, 2025
Comer maintained his position, reminding Pressley of proper unanimous consent procedures and refusing to recognize her continued attempts to speak. Despite Pressley’s repeated insistence that she had multiple articles to submit, Comer eventually moved the proceedings forward by recognizing another speaker, bringing the contentious exchange to an end.
