(CNSNews.com) - The House Judiciary Committee bickered over the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of its first hearing of the year on Wednesday.

The topic before the committee was border security.

But before the witnesses were introduced, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced an amendment giving the committee the opportunity to begin each of its meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance. That same amendment would allow committee members to invite "inspirational constituents" to lead the committee in the Pledge.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) offered an "amendment to the amendment," which said that anyone leading the Pledge should not be an individual who "supported an insurrection against the government of the United States in any way."

A number of committee members criticized the entire debate as superfluous, given that no one was raising objections to saying the Pledge at the start of committee hearings.

Much of the debate centered on Cicilline's amendment barring "insurrectionists."

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) called it "unfortunate" that Democrat Cicilline had "overly politicized something that should not be politicized." "I don't think there's any insurrectionist who is going to show up to offer the Pledge," Johnson argued.

In the end, Cicilline's "amendment to the amendment" was rejected 24-13; the Gaetz amendment was adopted unanimously.

The discussion lasted for more than half an hour.