Lamb Labeled A 'Lion' For Confrontation With GOP House Members

WASHINTON, D.C. — Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb's scathing remarks about his Republican colleagues from Pennsylvania early Thursday over the state's Electoral College vote appeared to nearly trigger a brawl on the House floor.

They also triggered an enormous, positive and occasionally humorous reaction on social media.

As they had promised they would do, eight of the nine Republican Congressmen in Pennsylvania voted to object to certifying the vote, citing the long-reiterated claims about election fraud that comprised dozens of dismissed lawsuits in federal and state court. In a fiery speech on the House floor following the objections, Allegheny County's Lamb asserted that Republican lies had "inspired" Wednesday's rioting at the Capitol.

"These objections don't deserve an ounce of respect," he said. "Not an ounce. A woman died out there tonight, and you're making these objections. Let's be clear about what happened in this chamber today: invaders came in for the first time since the War of 1812. They desecrated these chambers and practically every inch of ground where we work."

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Lamb then added that the protesters were able to enter the U.S. Capitol largely unbothered Wednesday "because of the way they looked." That caused commotion from the Republican side of the aisle, and shortly thereafter Maryland Rep. Andy Harris interrupted and that asked Lamb's words be struck from the record. When Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the request, there were increased shouts.

"It's sad but it's true," Lamb raised his voice, as Pelosi tried to gain control of the growing disorder.

C-SPAN video feed of the hearing soon showed the benches clearing on either side of the U.S. House of Representatives like dugouts clearing before a fight at a Major League Baseball game.

Among the outpouring of Twitter posts that followed:

Lamb , 36, of Mt. Lebanon is a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran and a former federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice's Pittsburgh office in Pennsylvania's Western District.

In 2017, Lamb was the Democratic nominee for a special election in the state's 18th Congressional District after Republican Rep. Tim Murphy resigned following an alleged extramarital affair. Lamb defeated Republican Rick Saccone by less than 500 votes to capture the former 18th District.

After the state's congressional map was redrawn in 2018 after a court order, Lamb defeated Republican Keith Rothfus in the new 17th Congressional District. He defeated Republican Sean Parnell in November to win another term.

Reporting by Justin Heinze/Patch.