(Paul Ryan speaking on the House floor.Screenshot via Twitter)
House Democrats involved in an unprecedented protest on the House floor shouted down Speaker Paul Ryan as he attempted to bring the group to order, as the parties' standoff over Democrats' "sit-in" reached dramatic heights late Wednesday night.
Democrats conducting the sit-in, in an effort to force a vote on gun-control legislation, shouted, "No bill, no break," as Ryan appeared to officially scold his Democratic colleagues.
You can see part of the exchange here:
Watch House Democrats shout down Paul Ryan during a gun-control protesthttps://t.co/VCyIyqhYu6
Republicans took control of the House floor long enough in the middle of the night to pass a major spending bill. Ryan held votes on several must-pass bills, including one for funds to combat the Zika virus. Then Republicans adjourned and left the Capitol, with no votes scheduled until July 5.
The protest began early Wednesday, led by civil-rights icon Rep. John Lewis.
"When we come back in July, we'll start all over again. The American people, they want us to act, they want us to do something," Lewis said, according to Reuters.
Ryan slammed House Democrats during a Wednesday afternoon CNN interview, calling their move a "publicity stunt."
"We don't agree with that" legislation, he said. "The Senate already doesn't agree with that. ... This is a publicity stunt."
The speaker gaveled the House back into recess amid the loud chants late Thursday night, and a live feed from the chamber was shut down.
Soon after, live feeds of the demonstrations popped up on social media. Several Republicans could be heard shouting back at Democrats who continued to chant, "No fly, no buy," and, "No bill, no break."
(Jose Louis Morales with a woman on Monday at his brother Edward Sotomayor Jr.'s cross, which was part of a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando, Florida.REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)
The chant is a bite-size version of calls by Democrats to persuade the Republican majority in Congress to take up votes on gun-control measures in response to last week's mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, the deadliest in modern US history.
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas at one point Wednesday night took to the floor to push back at Democrats. Of the Orlando attack, he shouted, "Radical Islam killed these people!"
Several other Republican House members could be heard shouting back at their Democratic colleagues.
One of the proposed gun-control bills aims to strengthen background checks on gunbuyers and keep people who are on the no-fly list from buying guns.