Ryan plans fines for House Dem sit-ins

House Speaker Paul Ryan plans to put some teeth in the rule against recording devices on the House floor, after Democrats defied the ban to broadcast a ‘sit-in’ over gun control in June.

Republican leaders have proposed empowering the House Sergeant-at-Arms to impose a maximum fine of $2,500 on lawmakers who use the recording devices. House Democrats decried the proposal as “a modern day and unconstitutional gag rule,” but Republicans maintain it’s simply an enforcement mechanism for the existing House rule banning the use of recording devices on the floor.