“We are associates working for members of the US Senate and US House of Representatives, where it is our honor and privilege to serve our country and our fellow Americans. We are writing this letter to share our own views and experiences, not our employers. But on January 6, 2021, our workplace was attacked by a violent mob trying to stop the electoral college votes, incited by former President Donald J. Trump and his political allies, of whom we some in the hallways at work every day, ” more than 370 staff wrote in the letter released Wednesday.
Trump was impeached by the United States House of Representatives before leaving office in January for instigating the Capitol uprising that forced lawmakers and staff alike to evacuate their offices. Arguments in the Senate trial begin next week, and House impeachment executives will allege Trump is “ extraordinarily responsible ” for the riot, according to a letter they submitted Tuesday.
“As employees of Congress, we don’t have a vote on whether or not to condemn Donald J. Trump for his role in instigating the violent attack on the Capitol, but our senators do. And for us and for the country ask that they vote to condemn the former president and prevent him from ever holding office again. “
The letter’s signatories come from more than 100 House offices, 15 Senate offices and 10 different committees, including the House Judiciary, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, the organizers said.
“No one should experience something like this in their workplace,” an employee familiar with drafting the letter told CNN last week. And I think it’s important to tell this part of the story because it’s not just members of Congress who come to work in the Capitol every day. And it isn’t just Capitol staff who are traumatized by what happened. And I think that’s part of it. The trauma is there; the trauma is very real. And every time new bits of information come out, you know, you’re kind of traumatized again. ‘
This story has been updated with additional information.