A group of House Democrats was expelled on April 27 while protesting as Senate Republicans voted to block a joint resolution to remove the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution.
The sergeant at arms was called to restore order and expel protesters, among whom were Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who didn’t have authorization to be on the Senate floor.
The protest was led by Pressley and Bush, who co-chair the Congressional Equal Rights Amendment Caucus. They’re also both members of the progressive “squad” made up of House lawmakers, including Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.).
Prior to being kicked out, Pressley explained in a video later shared on Twitter why the group was going to enter the Senate chamber.
“Gender equality can’t wait. There should be no deadline for that,” Pressley said.