On Friday, a man crashed his vehicle into two police officers outside the U.S. Capitol. The attack left one officer dead and the assailant fatally shot by police. This attack is expected to reignite the ongoing political debate over how to keep Congress safe nearly three months after the riot that took place on the Capitol on January 6th.

25-year-old Noah Green, drove his car into two police officers and then a barrier near the Capitol. Green got out of the car and went after the police with a knife before he was shot and later died. William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year Capitol Police veteran was killed during the attack, the second officer got severely injured and was hospitalized. There was no clear motivation behind the attack.  

On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) said the recent attack “has only added to the need to address security at the Capitol in a comprehensive way.”

Miles of fencing went up months ago in response to homegrown threats to the seat of democracy. Security around the Capitol is often contentious because lawmakers and visitors prefer an open campus, while security threats sometimes dictate restrictions. Lawmakers in both chambers have publicly pressed authorities and officials about when the rest of the fencing would come down, and decried talks of permanent fencing.

Republicans and Democrats alike have proposed legislation to prevent the fence from becoming permanent. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who chairs a key panel overseeing the Capitol Police’s funding, said during a press conference following Friday’s events he thought “the fence has provided some security. Is it perfect? No.”

“I recognize that the fence is a disturbance. It’s an eye-sore. It sucks. Nobody wants that there. But the question is, is the environment safe enough to be able to take it down? And in the meantime maybe that fence can prevent some of these things from happening,” he said.