Shouting Match Erupts in House After Kirk's Shooting

Two thousand miles east of Orem, Utah, where Charlie Kirk was shot to death on Wednesday, the House of Representatives honored the political commentator with a moment of silence—followed by a shouting match. With every lawmaker in the chamber still standing quietly in observance, Rep. Lauren Boebert demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson recite a prayer for Kirk aloud, the Washington Post reports. "Silent prayers get silent results," the Republican hollered from the back of the chamber. That was met with jeers from Democrats about gun laws. Rep. Jahana Hayes shouted that school shootings, including one earlier in the day in Boebert's home state of Colorado, are ignored, per the Wall Street Journal.

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a friend of Kirk's, stormed out of the chamber while yelling profanities at the Democrats, per Politico. Johnson, who had led the moment of silence, eventually was able to gavel a brief halt to the chaos and move on to the next piece of business. That was the swearing-in of Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw, who'd won a special election the day before in northern Virginia. When he ripped President Trump in his remarks for actions including the mass layoffs of federal employees, Republicans jeered back. "Scoreboard," one member said, referring to the GOP holding a House majority.