Protesters interrupt Senate aid hearing demanding ‘cease-fire now’
- Demonstrators flood Senate hearing calling for an end to the Israel war
- The group had their hands painted red and chanted ‘Cease-fire now!’
- Hearing set to discuss Biden’s request for over $100B in aid for Israel
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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — A Senate Appropriations Committee hearing was interrupted Tuesday by protesters demanding a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed President Joe Biden’s request for more than $100 billion in aid for Israel and Ukraine, among other topics, during the hearing.
Blinken’s testimony was interrupted several times as protesters chanted “Cease-fire now!”
Each time one protestor was escorted out of the hearing by U.S. Capitol police, Blinken would resume his testimony, only to be interrupted by another protester.
Then, Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) addressed the room, calling for order.
“I do recognize that people feel very passionately, but I ask that we have order in their hearing room and respect our speakers,” she said. “We will move forward with the hearing and allow the people here and the American people to hear from their witnesses.”
Shortly thereafter, another protester stood with a sign, also calling for a cease-fire.
Many of the demonstrators had their hands painted red and messages written on their raised arms like “Free Gaza” and posters that read “All the walls have to go!” They argued the administration had blood on its hands for its support of Israel.
Three more individuals then stood one after the other, interrupting testimony each time before a collective group of protesters stood and chanted for a cease-fire.
Many people also raised their hands in the air while remaining seated, an apparent workaround to the ban on standing and protesting the hearing.
Several Code Pink activists were arrested during the demonstration, the organization said in a news release.
Blinken continued his testimony and addressed the protesters saying that he could “hear, very much, the passions expressed in this room and outside this room.”
“All of us are committed to the protection of civilian life. All of us know the suffering that is taking place as we speak. All of us are determined to see it end,” he said. “But all of us know the imperative of standing up with our allies and partners when their security, when their democracies are threatened. That’s what happening now. We stand resolutely with them even as we stand resolutely for the protection of innocent civilians.”
A Code Pink demonstrator holds a sign as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd R) testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the 2024 proposed budget request, focusing on investing in US security, competitiveness, and the path ahead for the US-China relationship, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) 
A Code Pink demonstrator holds a sign as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (L) testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the 2024 proposed budget request, focusing on investing in US security, competitiveness, and the path ahead for the US-China relationship, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) 
A Capitol Police Officer confronts Code Pink protestor Medea Benjamin during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) 
Code Pink protesters raise their painted hands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testify during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31, 2023. Blinken and Austin are testifying for a $105 billion request to support Israel, Ukraine and other security priorities. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The Hill contributed to this report.
