Speaker’s Lobby to reopen in wake of pandemic, Jan. 6 shooting

The Speaker’s Lobby, a hallway lining the south side of the House chamber, is reopening to the media on Tuesday for the first time since it was restricted to only lawmakers and staff at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Named for the portraits of past House Speakers lining its walls, it has traditionally been a place where lawmakers, staff and journalists have gathered during floor votes.

It was also where a rioter attempting to jump through a broken window during the Jan. 6 insurrection was shot to death by a Capitol Police officer.

For now, access for members of the Capitol press corps will still be somewhat restricted with only one reporter per outlet allowed. 

The reopening comes as the House has eased other pandemic-related rules, including mandatory universal mask wearing and socially distanced floor votes.

The Speaker’s Lobby has undergone multiple changes since Capitol officials began restricting access last year.

Anyone entering the area must now go through metal detectors, which were installed in the days after Jan. 6 to enforce longstanding rules prohibiting lawmakers from bringing firearms into the House chamber.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last week that she has no plans to remove the metal detectors anytime soon, despite a new lawsuit filed by two House Republicans who were issued a combined $20,000 worth of fines for failing to complete security screenings. 

“As long as there is a threat, we’ll have to have protection,” Pelosi told reporters at a press conference.

In addition, some portraits of past Speakers that were displayed in March 2020 are now gone.

Last June, in the wake of the protests over racial justice and police brutality following the death of George Floyd, Pelosi ordered the removal of four portraits of past Speakers who served in the Confederacy. 

“Our Congressional community has the sacred opportunity and obligation to make meaningful change to ensure that the halls of Congress reflect our highest ideals as Americans. Let us lead by example,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to House clerk Cheryl Johnson at the time. 

The Speaker’s Lobby will also now be known as the place where Ashli Babbitt, who was part of the mob of former President Trump’s supporters who tried to stop Congress from ratifying the election results, was fatally shot as she tried to jump inside. 

If Babbitt had successfully landed inside the Speaker’s Lobby, she would have had access to a door to the House chamber immediately to her right while lawmakers, staff and journalists were still evacuating. 

The Justice Department has since determined it will not pursue charges against the still-unidentified Capitol Police officer who shot Babbitt, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to support a criminal prosecution.