Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and trash strewn across the floor in the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Water bottles, clothing, Trump flags, even a U.S. flag littered the ground inside the U.S. Capitol after a mob backing President Donald Trump ransacked the building.
New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim walked amid the mess shortly after voting to certify Joe Biden’s victory over Trump — and felt the weight of the day wearing on him — when something motivated him to clean up the debris.
I felt this kind of heightened, kind of supercharged kind of patriotism that I just felt take over,” he said in an interview.
“I think it was 1 in the morning,” said fellow New Jersey Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski.