The U.S. Capitol building and Senate offices will remain closed to the public after protective fencing is removed, U.S. Capitol Police informed Hill staffers in a Monday memo.
The announcement came after workers on Capitol Hill spent the weekend removing most of the fencing that had been there since the Jan. 6 riot. Capitol Police said last week that the outer ring of fencing would be completely removed by the end of March.
SOME CAPITOL RAZOR WIRE FENCING REMOVED AFTER MONTHS OF TIGHT SECURITY
Capitol Police also said that Constitution Avenue will remain temporarily closed “due to traffic light outages.” The street, however, is expected to open soon.
The Senate and the Capitol will remain accessible to staffers and registered visitors only through barricaded checkpoints, the memo added. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
Public access to the congressional offices has been a sticking point for many critics of the Capitol fence. Republican Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs complained shortly after the fence was put up that it reduced transparency on the Hill.
“No constituents can come and see us. No groups or organizations can come and see us. Nobody can sit in the gallery and watch us. They’re not having regular committee hearings. They’re cramming all this stuff through,” Biggs, the leader of the House Freedom Caucus, said.
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie called the fencing “a joke” and said that “closing the People’s House to the people is an evolutionary cul-de-sac.”
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In early March, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also criticized the lack of public access, saying that security was “overdone.”
Capitol Police have not announced when the inner ring of security surrounding the Hill will be removed.
