Congressional Staffers Say They're Suffering in the Wake of Capitol Riots: 'A Flood of Emotions'

According to a new report, staffers on Capitol Hill say they’re suffering from emotional and mental trauma in the wake of theJan. 6 pro-Trump riotsand an altercation earlier this month in whichan officer was killedafter a driver rammed a barricade.

Congressional aidestoldUSA Todaythat morale is lowin the wake of the violence and in the midst of theCOVID-19pandemic, which has spurred further divisions among lawmakers.

“How much worse does it get?” one Democratic staffer asked the paper, which interviewed those on both sides of the aisle following the April 2 car attack.

It’s been just over 100 days since theJan. 6 insurrection, when throngs of former PresidentDonald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol — after he encouraged them to march on the building — as Congress worked to certify the election of PresidentJoe Biden.

There was more violence earlier this month, when, authorities say, a driver rammed a barricade outside of the Capitol and then exited the vehicle, brandishing a knife before being fatally shot.

Two officers were involved in the altercation, police said. One died and one was injured.

Though congressional staffers offered differing reasons toUSA Todayfor why morale at the Capitol has sunk so low, most agreed that the mood, in general, is one of exhaustion.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the paper that, during the events of Jan. 6, she was more afraid for the safety of others than for herself, adding that many staffers are now undergoing counseling.

“I was afraid for everybody else, and I’ll never forgive them for the trauma that they caused to the staff and the members,” Pelosi said. “Many are still dealing with the aftereffects and have sought counseling. … I do think it will have an impact on how people decide to come to work here or stay to work here and the rest.”

U.S. Capitol building.Getty

“I think there’s the actual trauma of what we watched on [Jan. 6] and how awful that was, and then there’s the daily frustration of continuing to work with people who are lying about it and making it worse,” the staffer toldUSA Today. “I mean, morale is very low. It’s hard to put into words.”

This person added that some staffers have been known to “cry, and have cried, every day after Jan. 6.”

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens added that one of his own aides called him after the riots, saying, “I’m having a panic attack about this.”

Stevens said: “It’s just bringing back a flood of emotions after a post-traumatic stress event.”

USA Todayobtained an email that offered counseling for all staffers after Jan. 6. But a progressive aide, who asked not to be named, told the paper they have not yet had time “to process or heal in the way that some people obviously would want to after an event like that.”

Most of the GOP staffers who spoke toUSA Todaystopped short of saying low morale was a side-effect of the insurrection, with one saying, “We function in a high-stress, high-stakes environment” to begin with.

Some conservative aides to lawmakers attributed the mood on the Hill instead to thecoronavirus pandemic, which had led to an increase in remote work and less of a sense of community at work.

Heightened partisanship — due to a it’s 50-50 split in the Senate and slim 218-212 Democratic majority in the House of Representatives — has also affected the mood, with one aide comparing a day at work to “suiting up for … warfare.”

Meanwhile, Gus Papathanasiou, the chairman of theUnited States Capitol Police Labor Committee,told the paper that officers were also “still reeling” from both attacks.

The violence on Jan. 6 led to thedeaths of five people,including Capitol Police OfficerBrian D. Sicknick, 42.

The officer killed in the April car attack, William F. “Billy” Evans, washonored in a ceremonyat the Capitol last week.

Papathanasiou hypothesized about the potential for a “mass exit,” noting that at least 500 Capitol officers are eligible for retirement in the next five years.

“That could have happened to any one of us,” he toldUSA Today.

Some lawmakers have also spoken candidlyabout the emotional scarsof the January attack.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee told NBC News earlier this month that he had begun seeing a therapist and experienced changes in his mood and labored breathing, among other symptoms, after the riots.

While Pelosi had earlier announced a9/11-like independent probeof what led to the riots, support for such a commission hasdwindled in recent weeks.

source: people.com