“I’m ok. This is the safest building in the world.” That is the paraphrased text from my husband, Rep. Jim Himes, from the House Chamber as seditious rioters broke into the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. I’d forgotten that from his vantage point of the balcony in the House Chamber, he couldn’t see what we all did on TV– the angry mob scaling the exterior walls and breaking glass windows to climb into the world’s most recognizable and beloved symbol of democracy, and the hate-filled rioters tramping through those hallowed halls searching for a target for their anger. I certainly didn’t worry that these yahoos would actually make it to the House Floor. After all, I can hardly find my way there even though my husband has been in office since 2009. And also, this is the US Capitol! It must be safe, right? So when the mob was at the doors to the Chamber, I simply sat in complete disbelief too shocked to be scared. I texted Jim again asking if he was really ok and I got no response. Silence.
As a Congressional spouse, I’d never actually watched the certification process. It seemed to me like a long, slow-moving story with a sure ending, not exactly riveting TV. But after four years of barely surviving Donald Trump, I sat down joyfully with my daughter (and some champagne at the ready) in my family room to watch and celebrate the end of the Trump Presidency. Because ever since that awful moment in 2016 when we learned that Donald Trump was to become the President of the United States, I had felt deeply unmoored in my adopted country. I didn’t recognize the country that had just elected someone so unfit for the office. I did not feel at home here in this new landscape. I still don’t understand those who support Trump’s Muslim ban, who believe that COVID is a hoax after 800,000+ people died from the virus, or who think that Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger should have “found” 11,780 votes in order to overturn the election result in his state. If Jan. 6, 2021, meant anything to me that day, it was to be the end of that nightmare and the beginning of a sane, just, fact-based Congressional term where good legislation could become law and comity and compromise might make a timely comeback.
That was not what I was seeing on my TV. Police officers were being violently squeezed by revolving doors, out-of-control men wielded baseball bats to attack Capitol police officers. My daughters kept asking me if Dad is going to be ok? So I started aggressively texting my husband, hoping to get word that he was in fact ok. We waited and watched on TV like everyone else as rioters continued their rampage and the President of the United States watched and did nothing. And then I got the phone call. Jim was ok, in a secure room in the Capitol complex with many other Members. They had water and I think potato chips from the snack machines to eat. They were safe, except from the maskless Republicans who gave at least one Member of Congress Covid that day.
Knowing my Jim was safe, my emotions switched from deep personal anxiety to fear and anger for our country. I was lucky. My husband is resilient and pretty fearless. I knew he would move on from this unforgettable day with strength and an unwavering determination to improve the lives of his constituents. But other Members, staff, and those who work to keep the Capitol running, remain understandably affected by this trauma. I have been on calls where many spouses are in tears. They no longer feel safe in their homes, their districts, or the Capitol. Families get death threats. This is deeply wrong. I remember feeling so angry at all the Trump supporters in Congress who refused to hold Trump to account for inciting this attack – I still feel that way. I wrote a personal letter to Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking him to demand the resignation of President Trump. I got no response. Not surprising, I guess, but I had hoped that a letter from a Congressional Spouse might at least merit an email response from him or his staff.
It’s been one year since that awful day and our democracy is still under threat. The sedition caucus is alive and well in the House of Representatives – ready to choose Donald Trump over the Constitution. But we democracy-loving Americans are still here too, and we know that democracy is not a spectator sport! To survive and thrive, it depends on all of us to engage and participate. So in honor of all the brave men and women who fought for hours, some who died, to protect the US Capitol and all Members of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, let’s canvas, write letters, register voters, and run for elected office. It’s up to us to turn this tragedy into triumph.