Congress will award Congressional Gold Medals to the U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers who helped protect the Capitol on Jan. 6, after a Senate vote on Tuesday.
The Senate passed the bill awarding the medals via unanimous consent, meaning the votes weren’t recorded but any single senator could have blocked its passage.
The House of Representatives passed the bill overwhelmingly earlier this year, 406–21.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the document, which outlines the awarding of four medals.
One will go to the U.S. Capitol Police, one will go to the Metropolitan Police Department, one will go to the Smithsonian Institution for display, and the fourth will be given to the Architect of the Capitol, for display in the Capitol building.
“Jan. 6 unleashed many horrors, but it also revealed many heroes, a day that many of us remember for its violence, anger, and destruction was not without its share of bravery, sacrifice, and selflessness. I am of course talking about the capitol police and the metropolitan police,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor in Washington on Tuesday.
“I hope by passing this congressional gold medal bill by unanimous consent, we send a clear message to law enforcement officers that we are united in our appreciation of all they do to keep us safe,” added Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
Over 150 law enforcement officers suffered injuries from the clashes on Jan. 6, when protesters and rioters breached the Capitol building while Congress was in a joint session to count the electoral votes.
Most lawmakers in the lower chamber joined in the passage of the bill, but 21 Republicans voted against it.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said he voted against the bill because Democrats had “combined recognition of USCP with editorial comments about January 6th.
“The brave men and women of the USCP deserve better, which is why I cosponsored a clean recognition of their heroism” with Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), he wrote on Twitter in March.
