C-SPAN has asked House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to allow its cameras onto the House floor following its captivating coverage of the 15 votes it took for him to secure the job last week.
The network’s cameras, which had been allowed during the speaker election, were removed from the chamber Monday after the House approved a new set of rules to begin the 118th Congress.
In a letter penned by co-CEO Susan Swain, the network said the theme of “transparency” included in the rules, as well as calls by the press, public and lawmakers, prompted it to resubmit its request for more access.
“We do not propose replacing the existing House Recording System or its output,” Swain wrote Tuesday. “Instead, we request to install a few additional cameras in the House chamber.”
The current feed broadcasted by C-SPAN is controlled by the government.
C-SPAN, a nonprofit organization funded by satellite and cable TV networks, is only rarely allowed to use its own cameras for events like the speaker election and the State of the Union address.
Last week’s coverage captured a near-brawl when Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) appeared to lunge at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) after the latter voted “present” on the 14th round of votes for speaker.
C-SPAN appeared to gain more traction through its coverage of the vote, trending on Twitter and having its mobile app hit record downloads, Howard Mortman, a spokesperson for the network, told The New York Times.
Lawmakers from both parties appear to be supportive of the idea of allowing independently operated cameras into the chamber.
“Last week’s @CSPAN coverage was worthy of an Oscar,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who is introducing a bill calling for coverage of the full House, tweeted Monday.
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a co-sponsor of Pocan’s legislation, said releasing the cameras from the speaker’s control would allow Americans to see “democracy in action.”
“This is a small but important step towards transparency and accountability in our government,” Frost wrote on Twitter.
Gaetz, who introduced an amendment that would allow C-SPAN cameras in the chamber, called the current pool feed “antiquated and boomer-fied.”
“Our fellow Americans deserve to know when we are frustrated with one another, kind to one another, present, or absent,” Gaetz told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
And fellow Republican Rep. Chip Roy (Texas) said “it was a good thing for people to be able to see the inner workings” of the chamber with cameras rolling during the speaker vote.
Ben O’Connell, the editorial operations director at C-SPAN, told HuffPost that the regular feed Americans see on C-SPAN is effectively “the government covering the government.”
But when journalists are allowed into the room, the public gets “to see their members at work in a much more intimate way than then they’re able to see on that government-operated feed,” O’Connell said.
Support for the added cameras isn’t universal. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), for one, argued it would be a bad idea.
“There will be accusations of partisanship for showing certain members vs others, and honestly Congress is already too much of a performance,” he wrote on Twitter.
This is not the first time C-SPAN has made this request. A section of C-SPAN’s website titled “Letters Requesting Greater Transparency” lists correspondence dating back to 1994 addressed to Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Asked if he thinks there is now momentum for House leadership to allow this change, O’Connell replied: “I’m guardedly optimistic.”