by Midway through a Congressional session already marked by extraordinary chaos and a lack of productivity, the Republican-led House rang in the new year with a new set of ID pins for each member that cost a whopping $40,000, according to a Congressional aide familiar with the purchase.
At the beginning of each new Congress, each member of the House is given a circular badge that identifies him as a lawmaker, telling security officials at the Capitol that they are allowed to enter restricted spaces, including the House floor. The background color and session number of Congress change every two years, but the design rarely does; It bears the Great Seal of the United States, an eagle with outstretched wings carrying an olive branch in one talon and arrows in the other.
But on Wednesday, during Congress’ first work week of the year, members lined up in the President’s Lobby outside the House chamber to retire their bright green pins and replace them with new navy and gold ones.
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., took to social media to offer an explanation for the new accessories.
“Today we are getting a new pin, halfway through the semester because @HouseGOP didn’t like the color,” he wrote on social networks.
A spokesman for President Mike Johnson did not immediately provide further explanation in response to a request for comment.
The purchase came as most House Republicans continue to bemoan what they see as excessive federal spending, while hardliners threaten to shut down the government to insist on deeper cuts.
Johnson announced Friday that he would maintain the spending deal he negotiated with Democrats to avoid a partial shutdown next week, as right-wing lawmakers were furious about funding levels in the bipartisan deal and pressured him to change course.
Lawmakers generally seemed satisfied or ambivalent about the new pins.
Rep. Rudy Yakym III, R-Indiana, told a NOTUS journalist that the replacement was a welcome improvement over green, while former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., expressed confusion about why the pins had been changed.
Semafor, which previously reported the cost of the new pins, he said some congresswomen had complained that the bail on the old pins was too small and would not fit on thicker chains. While most members wear the accessory on their lapel, some wear it around their neck as a pendant.
