Biden ‘in close touch’ with Pelosi over safety of lawmakers after speaker warns ‘enemy is within House of Representatives’

‘We will probably need a supplemental for more security for members when the enemy is within the House of Representatives,’ Pelosi says

President Joe Biden has been “in close contact” with Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding threats surrounding congressional lawmakers following the deadly pro-Trump attacks on the US Capitol, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday.

The White House said Mr Biden was discussing the concerns with Ms Pelosi on a “nearly daily basis” after the Speaker suggested part of the security issues surrounding Capitol Hill have been spurred by the conduct and rhetoric of some House Republicans.

"So we want to have a scientific approach to how we protect members," Ms Pelosi said on Thursday at her weekly news conference. "I do believe and I have said this all along we will probably need a supplemental for more security for members when the enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about in addition to what is happening outside."

Read more: Follow live updates and analysis on the Biden administration

Ms Pelosi has been outspoken in recent weeks about threats against lawmakers after former President Donald Trump’s extremist supporters breached security measures, attacked police officers and broke into the Capitol as Congress convened to certify his defeat in the 2020 elections.

Since then, Democrats have condemned several of their Republican colleagues for attempting to defy security protocols, including bringing firearms onto the House floor.

Asked to clarify what she meant by her comments about an “enemy within the House of Representatives”, the speaker said: “It means that we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress."

Congress has opened an investigation into the attacks on the Capitol while at least 34 House Democrats have demanded probes into whether Republican lawmakers provided any of the rioters tours of the building in the days leading up to the mob or had some other involvement in the events that unfolded on 6 January. 

Federal investigations have also been opened into the matter, along with an ongoing probe by the United States Capitol Police Department.

The White House declined to comment on specific lawmakers who have stirred controversy in the days since the attacks, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has promoted debunked and otherwise false conspiracy theories about the election and supported QAnon.

Asked about her refusal to comment on the Republican lawmaker, Ms Psaki said Friday: “We don't want to elevate conspiracy theories further in the briefing room, so I'm going to leave it at that."