Senate awards Congressional Gold Medal to officer for ‘incredible bravery’ during Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — The Senate took a break from Donald Trump’s contentious impeachment trial Friday to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who likely saved lives by tricking the far-right mob into chasing after him instead of members of Congress during last month’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
After the Trump legal team rested their defense at the unprecedented trial, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took to the floor and asked for unanimous consent to approve a resolution giving Goodman the medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow on a civilian.
No one objected, and Goodman, who was in the chamber, received a minutes-long standing ovation from senators.
“After the attack on Jan. 6, the world learned about the incredible, incredible bravery of Office Goodman on that fateful day,” Schumer said.
The House impeachment managers showed previously unseen video during Wednesday’s trial session that revealed former Vice President Mike Pence, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and other lawmakers would likely have come face-to-face with the pro-Trump attackers on Jan. 6 if Goodman had not helped direct the mob away from them.
“Here in this trial, we saw new video, powerful video showing his calmness under pressure, his courage in the line of duty, his foresight in the midst of chaos and his willingness to make himself a target of the mob’s rage so that other might reach safety,” Schumer said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., echoed Schumer’s sentiment.
“If not for the quick thinking and bravery of Officer Eugene Goodman, in particular, people in this chamber may not have escaped that day unharmed,” McConnell said.
Despite finding common ground on the Congressional Gold Medal, Democrats and Republicans could not be further apart on the question of whether Trump’s to blame for the Capitol attack, which left a police officer dead.
The Senate appears likely to vote as early as this weekend to acquit Trump of inciting the attack, even though Democrats unanimously say he’s squarely at fault for the bloodshed of Jan. 6.
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