6 months ago today I wore this blue suit as I cleaned the Capitol after the insurrection, now I just donated it to the Smithsonian. Jan6 must never be forgotten. While some try to erase history, I will fight to tell the story so it never happens again. Here is one story…(THREAD)
STORY OF THE BLUE SUIT: When the Smithsonian asked me to donate the blue suit, I thought about how the suit itself is unremarkable. Bought off-the-rack at JCrew during a holiday sale. I wanted a bright blue new suit to wear to Biden’s inauguration. Then Jan 6 happened…2/17
JANUARY 6: I woke with the news of the wins in Georgia. I decided to wear the blue suit. I bought it to be a suit of celebration, and I thought what better way to give the suit meaning than to wear it when I confirm the electoral college and then later to the inauguration. 3/17
Like my suit, what I did on Jan 6 on its face was unremarkable. I saw a mess and cleaned it. I wanted to right the wrongs of that day as quickly and as tangibly as I could. Neither my suit nor my actions are on their own worthy of memory, but the story didn’t end there. 4/17
JANUARY 13: The last time I wore the blue suit wasn’t Jan 6, it was Jan13. I wore it when I walked onto the House floor to cast my vote for impeachment. The suit still had dust on the knees from Jan6. I wore it so I would have no doubt about the truth of what happened. 5/17
When I got home I vowed to never wear the suit again. I even considered throwing it away. It only brought back terrible memories. I could never separate that suit from the events of Jan6. I hid it in my closet as I never wanted to see it again. But then something happened. 6/17
In the following days, I started to receive thousands of cards from across the country. Many from kids. Strangers who wanted to tell me how they felt when they saw the photo of me. They talked about the blue suit. The suit meant something different to them than it did to me.7/17
People wrote saying the blue suit gave them a sense of resilience and hope. For me, I was in a tough place. In days after Jan6 I had an unshakable regret that I didn’t do more to keep people safe. But feeling of hope/resilience in the cards helped me feel stronger. Thank you.8/17
The Smithsonian called later in January. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about how the day would be remembered as I was still living it. In fact, after the call, I had to pull over on the side of I-95 as I started to tear up uncontrollably while driving home. I was still not ok.9/17
When the Smithsonian requested the suit, I tried to imagine what an exhibit about Jan6 would look like. Perhaps it would have broken glass from shattered doors, torn flags and signs. Video of the mob trying to hijack our democracy. But there was so much more to that day. 10/17
The story of that day wasn’t just destruction. There was hope and resilience. The Capitol Police were heroes that saved lives. Colleagues and staff showed bravery. I hope those stories are told. They help tell a story of light on one of the darkest days in our democracy. 11/17
I told the Smithsonian yes to donating the blue suit because the telling of the story of Jan6 isn’t optional, it is necessary. There are many stories of Jan6. Mine is just one. We cannot heal as a nation unless we have truth. Let truth be truth. 12/17
There are those trying to erase what happened, voting against commissions/committees aimed at documenting history. They say just move on and turn the page. But I say, you can’t turn the page of American history until you write the page first. 13/17
Instead of trying to erase history they don’t like after the fact, politicians should just act in a way that doesn’t produce such shameful results. It’s not hard to not incite or cover up an insurrection. 14/17
Smithsonian is entrusted to help tell the story of America. It isn’t always a pretty story, but it is an unfinished story with the persistent hope that it will improve and that we can repair our faults. More importantly, it is our story. It is shared truth binding us as one.15/17
Patriotism isn’t to think we are infallible; it is to know we make mistakes but to love our nation and one another with care enough to fix the injustices that remain. To know our resilience. To have humility to know that we are a part of something bigger than all of us. 16/17
It’ll be surreal to one day take my kids to the Smithsonian and show them the blue suit behind glass. I hope they grow to know the truth of Jan6, but I also hope the story ultimately is one of hope and resilience. I hope that is what they and others see in the blue suit. END
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
I heard about vandalism of the United Synagogue of Hoboken and it pains me to see the way some people are acting on their deep disagreements and prejudices in ways that intentionally seek to intimidate and strike fear in others…THREAD
I walked past the defaced statues at Union Station yesterday as the park service power washed the disgusting “Hamas is Coming” threat from the marble. No matter how deeply one disagrees, that is no justification for threats or antisemitism. 2/
Threats and intimidation are not a form of protest, they are a form of coercion and retribution. Often instilling fear, they risk opportunities for understanding, and weaken and draw focus away from the cause of legitimate protests. 3/
When Lincoln was shot he wore a coat embroidered with “One Country, One Destiny.” I’ve turned to those 4 words to help me process this moment. This assassination attempt was one of the worst events I’ve seen in our democracy. It feels like we are a country unmoored…THREAD
I’ve never experienced a time more unpredictable yet with such generational consequence. So what does this particular moment mean? I remembered a passage in a book I read. “Power and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent.” 2/10
The deep unease we carry is in part the fact that we witnessed with the shooter one person trying to use the means of violence to impose their will upon a nation of 330 million and subvert the power of people that underlies our very democracy. 3/10
This month is 20 yrs since I started serving the country, first as an intern and now today I’m on the ballot to be the Dem nominee for Senate. I’ve been blessed to serve, working my way up from a desk in the photocopy room. But I always remembered my 1st lesson in service. THREAD
20 yrs ago, arriving at Union Station, I realized I didn’t know anyone else in the entire city of DC. I didn’t come from a political family or had any previous experience in DC except for a family trip or two. I was nervous. I felt out of place. I felt like I didn’t belong. 2/11
Who was I to think I could work in government? I am a son of immigrants, a public school kid. I made my way by metro lugging a big duffel to Foggy Bottom where I had a dorm room in George Washington University for the summer. 3/11
I first met @YaelBromberg, @bmpugach and Flavio Komuves just 5 months ago. While we talked, the gravity of what we were considering hit me. I asked them point blank, what’s our chance of winning a lawsuit against the political machine? Is this a Hail Mary or do we have a shot?🧵
The three of them didn’t flinch. They each took turns telling me why this was real. They embodied confidence yet humility. They were pragmatic and tactical while maintaining the hopefulness and courage one needs to take on NJ politics. 2/6
I explained to them how this would set off a massive firestorm. In some ways I wanted to make sure they were ready for it. But I realized when I talked that the three of them understood exactly what they were doing as they’ve been fighting this fight for years. 3/6
Politics in NJ is facing a real crossroads right now between elite control and power of people. The same leaders who gain political control through the county line on ballots are flexing to ram through a bill gutting OPRA and transparency. These problems are interconnected THREAD
Of all the things to fast track...leaders are spending time and capital reducing transparency. We have affordability, environmental, infrastructure challenges. It's a real prioritization problem to have a politics more interested in preserving/expanding their own control. 2/10
The actions yesterday of reportedly replacing a state Senator on a committee because he planned to vote against the bill shows how broken this process is. It gives the impression that individual lawmakers are irrelevant, and all that matters is what top leaders want. 3/10
The broken politics in New Jersey needs to end once and for all. Today I am filing suit and seeking an injunction to stop the corrupt county line system for this June 4 primary and to abolish it permanently going forward. 49 states use fair ballots; it’s time NJ does too. THREAD
Right now NJ allows a handful of party elites to give their handpicked candidates preferential placement on the ballot. This is a deeply unfair advantage that disenfranchises voters by applying undue influence and suppressing choice of candidates.
Voter disenfranchisement particularly harms candidates and voters of color. We’ve seen leaders from those communities - like NJ State Senators Shirley Turner and Troy Singleton - have the courage to take risk and come out to call for change. I’m grateful for their leadership.