Charlie Kirk murder hits close to home for members of Congress

Among lawmakers’ typical discussions in the Capitol building Thursday about government funding, Senate rule changes and health care subsidies, the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk never seemed to lurk far from the surface.

The shooting death of the 31-year-old in Utah the previous day was mentioned in nearly every media scrum and press conference. It came up at committee meetings and in interviews after House votes.

What emerged from lawmakers was a heady mix of personal grief, condemnations of political violence and soul-searching about the state of political discourse in the country, as they grappled with a victim being someone so well known to many in Republican circles.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said during a committee markup that political violence “is absolutely and always wrong, no matter who it targets, what their views may be or how deeply we disagree with them.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who would later introduce a resolution thanked him for the comments. “This one hits particularly hard,” Lee said. “I’ve known him for well over a decade and consider him a dear friend.”

Lee said he exchanged texts with Kirk shortly before the attack. Utah Valley University, where the shooting occurred, is also “just a couple of miles” from where he grew up and where he lives now, saying he’s spent “countless hours” there and thinks of it as a safe place.

“I deeply appreciate your insightful, heartfelt remarks on that, and share your view that there is no place for political violence,” Lee told Heinrich. “We have got to move away from that.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., in an interview, described Kirk as a personal friend and took a contemplative pause. “I’m just at a loss for words, to be honest with you, I can’t figure out how to articulate exactly how I feel, but it is a tragedy,” Schmitt said.

Many lawmakers noted that Kirk’s death joined a litany of recent political violence, including the assassination attempts against President Donald Trump, the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, the arson on the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and more.

They also decried the spread of gun violence, noting the school shooting in Colorado Wednesday, and the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Thursday.

Rep. James R. Comer, R-Ky., the chairman of the House oversight panel, called it a somber day and told reporters that the nation’s political rhetoric is “not getting better, it’s getting worse.”

“I mean, everybody’s emotions are high. I’m not going to point fingers at either party. Both parties have guilt. I think the media has some guilt,” Comer said. “So hopefully we can, we can take a tragedy like this and try to all do better. And I think we can all do better, myself included.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters “people have been shaken by this event,” and said that he’s “all about turning down the temperature.”

“Charlie Kirk did not die in, you know, a car accident, he died in an assassination for his beliefs. He was exercising his First Amendment freedoms on a university campus, which is supposed to be the free marketplace of ideas, and he was killed for it,” Johnson said.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., noted the somber mood among members of the House since the shooting, despite some of the angry rhetoric Wednesday and Thursday.

“I just think there’s a lot of emotion in there, a lot of raw emotion. And everybody gets a pass here for a day or two, and then hopefully it settles down to what you know, calmer words,” Massie said.

Practical questions emerged about security for members of Congress as they face increasing threats in the current environment. Others sought to echo the president and lay blame, despite the fact that as of Thursday afternoon, Kirk’s killer remains at large.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., placed blame on Democrats and “lunatics” who allowed threats of violence to spread. Mace said she regularly has police posted outside of district offices and staff who do not feel safe coming to work. Mace also included anti-transgender slurs in her remarks to reporters, referring to reports about alleged evidence found at the scene of the shooting.

“This is, it’s out of control, and enough is enough, and I’m gonna double down on this. I’m gonna be more vigilant than ever. I’m gonna be louder than I’ve ever been until this shit stops. It’s got to stop,” Mace said.

Similarly Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., upbraided reporters outside the House. “Every single one of you here, you’re at fault,” Van Orden told reporters. When a reporter tried to ask about whether that could be true when the shooter has not been caught, Van Orden said: “Knock it off.”

Some Republicans said there were problems on their own side as well. Massie said that he has increased his own security after dealing with threats due to his push for a discharge petition on files on late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Massie also later told reporters that Trump himself takes some blame for the tone of the nation’s political rhetoric.

“Well, I think he should lower his own rhetoric. He called it a hostile act for members of Congress to co-sponsor the Epstein resolution using words like hostile act, I think is irresponsible on his part,” Massie said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the mood on Capitol Hill has been “somber” and he was glad to see bipartisan examples of people decrying political violence.

“What I found disgusting was a few of the talking heads who were going out and saying we are at war, they are part of the problem and they should be held accountable,” Tillis said.

Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., noted that both parties have had a problem.

“I’m not going to be shy about the fact that Donald Trump has a lot to do with the normalization of political violence. But there’s, you know, definitely been elements of the left that have waved away violence and rationalized violence as well. So you know, it’s time that we have a zero tolerance policy. It’s time for the president to lead,” Murphy said.

“It’s time that we admit that in a nation where political tempers and broken brains are increasing and intersecting, having millions of guns in this country, often in the hands of very dangerous people, is also not a good idea,” Murphy said.

The Capitol complex itself was also not free from security threats Thursday. A spokesperson for U.S. Capitol Police said they responded to a bomb threat at the Democratic National Committee headquarters near the Capitol but officers had found nothing and cleared the building.

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters the moment “requires leadership that brings the American people together, as opposed to trying to further divide us.”

“And moving forward, we have to figure out a better way to come together, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans,” Jeffries said.

Off the Hill

During a 9/11 ceremony earlier Thursday at the Pentagon, Trump and the military’s top civilian official, Pete Hegseth, both paid tribute to Kirk.

“Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. I felt Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” Trump said. “Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children.

Trump also said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

“We miss him greatly. Yet, I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on,” the president added.

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(Aidan Quigley, Justin Papp, Sandhya Raman, Nina Heller and John T. Bennett contributed to this report.)