Congress shaken but not surprised by "unsettling" bomb threats
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To members of Congress, the wave of bomb threats targeting public figures this week was just another sad chapter in what has become a constant and relentless cycle of political threats and violence.
Why it matters: Lawmakers have weathered years of rising threats, startling security incidents, raucous protests and assassination attempts to the point where many have factored peril into their new normal.
- "We are upset it's happening but … it's become all too familiar," said one House Republican, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss lawmakers' security candidly.
- A senior House Democrat told Axios: "I think honestly it's become part of what we all deal with ... death threats [and] protests are far more common than many realize."
Driving the news: On Wednesday, the Trump transition said several of the president-elect's appointees were hit with bomb and "swatting" threats.
- Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) — Trump's nominees for labor secretary, U.N. ambassador and EPA administrator — were among the targets.
- On Thursday, all but one member of Connecticut's fully Democratic, seven-person congressional delegation said they received similar threats.
- And on Friday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) said they, too, faced bomb threats targeting their homes.
Between the lines: Despite law enforcement deeming each threat non-credible, the incidents spurred lawmakers to call for increased security and take proactive steps to shore up their safety.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) office, in a statement Friday, called for "maximum protection" for members and their families.
- A second senior House Democrat told Axios on Friday their staff had "spoken to our local law enforcement," calling the threats "unsettling."
- "It's very scary," said a second House Republican, who told Axios they faced their "worst week of death threats ever" and have "very heightened awareness" as a result.
Zoom out: These threats are just the latest in a series of frightening and violent incidents in American politics in recent years.
- The 2017 congressional baseball shooting, which left now-House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) critically injured.
- The Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, which left five dead dead and hundreds more — mostly law enforcement officers — injured.
- The 2021 Good Friday attack, in which a driver fatally struck a barrier outside the Capitol, killing one officer and injuring another.
- A series of disturbing 2022 security incidents including a stabbing attempt against Zeldin and a violent threat outside Rep. Pramila Jayapal's (D-Wash.).
- That same year, a hammer-wielding assailant attacked former Speaker Nancy Pelsoi's (D-Calif.) husband, Paul, in their San Francisco home.
- A string of disruptive 2023 and 2024 protests around the Israel-Hamas war, including one in which demonstrators trapped lawmakers inside the DNC headquarters.
- Two assassination attempts against President-elect Trump in July and September.
- A sharp rise in threats against members of Congress: From 902 Capitol Police threat assessment cases in 2016 to more than 8,000 in 2023.
What they're saying: "The hateful rhetoric hasn't changed much and it's long past time for meaningless reactions to the threats," said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), the chair of a task force investigating the Trump assassination attempts.
- Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said lawmakers "need to be careful and concerned about violence against public officials," and that "disrespect for public officials and civic institutions has grown in the last eight years."
- Cohen added that he is "not optimistic that we'll turn the corner anytime soon."
