GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn's car was pulled over by Capitol Police but was let go after she flashed her congressional pin
- The car GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn was in was pulled over by Capitol Police on Thursday.
- But she was let go after she showed police her congressional pin and said she was a senator, CNN reported.
- Her office confirmed to Insider her driver was pulled over and said police asked to see her identification.
The car that Sen. Marsha Blackburn was riding in Thursday was pulled over by Capitol Police, but she and her driver were let go after she showed police her congressional pin and identified herself as a senator, CNN reported.
Blackburn's office confirmed to Insider that Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, was a passenger in a car that was pulled over by police. The incident occurred on Constitution Ave. in Washington after the Senate cast its final ballot for the week and senators headed to the airport to return to their districts, according to CNN.
"While en-route to the airport to fly to Memphis for constituent meetings, Senator Blackburn's driver was pulled over," a spokesperson for Blackburn told Insider and CNN. "The police officer asked the Senator for identification, which she provided, and then proceeded to the airport."
According to the report, while senators typically cast their final votes on Friday around 1:45 p.m., they didn't finish until around 3 p.m. Thursday, leaving them to rush to the airport to catch their flights back to their home districts.
According to the report, after Blackburn's car was pulled over, she exited the vehicle, told the officer she was a senator and showed her Congressional pin. The officer then allowed Blackburn to get back into the car and continue, CNN reported.
The report cited text messages from one of Blackburn's aides and two sources familiar with the situation. Blackburn aide Leo Kowalski texted his friends about the incident, according to CNN, writing the senator "hopped out, flashed her pin, hopped back in the car [and] said 'drive!'"
Kowalski then wrote that the officer "shook his head" and allowed Blackburn to go.
US Capitol Police had no record of the incident, according to the report. Capitol Police did not return Insider's request for comment Saturday.