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NY Post
New York Post
11 Sep 2023


NextImg:Activists arrested after occupying McCarthy’s office over AIDS program

Seven demonstrators were busted Monday after they barged into and briefly occupied House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) office, according to Capitol Police.

The protesters were seeking a five-year reauthorization of PEPFAR, a George W. Bush-era program that provides government funding for HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention and research.

“Pass PEPFAR now,” the group chanted as security personnel warned that they would be arrested if they remained.

The activists were later stood up against the wall outside McCarthy’s office and handcuffed.

They kept demanding PEPFAR’s renewal as authorities escorted them away, in a scene captured on video by Politico reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein.

Some Republicans have been squeamish about re-upping PEPFAR due to concerns about abortion.
AP
PEPFAR protest
Activists seen demonstration for a PEPFAR extension while occupying the speaker’s office.
HealthGAP/Twitter

“This morning, multiple individuals were demonstrating inside a House Office Building. After the demonstrators refused to cease demonstrating, USCP then arrested the 4 males and 3 females for Unlawful Entry,” Capitol Police told The Post in a statement.

Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass a government funding bill that would replenish the PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) program, which has drawn bipartisan acclaim and saved as many as 25 million lives by some estimates.

But a handful of Republicans have soured on the program, concerned that some of its roughly $7 billion in funding may go to abortion providers.

PEPFAR protest
Capitol Police said it detained four males and three females.
housingworks/Twitter
PEPFAR protest
Some of the protesters sat on the floor chanting ‘PEPFAR now.”
HealthGAP/Twitter

The Biden administration has rejected those characterizations.

McCarthy was out of his office when the protesters stormed in. A rep for the speaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his whereabouts.

The House is due back in session Tuesday and has just over two weeks to hammer out a spending plan to avoid a partial government shutdown.