By barging into a closed hearing regarding the impeachment inquiries on Oct. 23, Republican congressmen and women could have severely hurt U.S. national security if the inquiry had started. They risked it all because they wanted to tweet about protesting the inquiry.

In Jan. 2015, House Speaker John Boehner signed into the rules of the House that only those on committees administering closed hearings were allowed in to participate. A rule created for the Benghazi hearings which are still in effect today.

On Oct. 23, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff was beginning an interview with Laura Cooper as part of the impeachment inquiry and an investigation into the holding of aid to Ukraine. Before Cooper’s testimony, a group of Republicans burst into the House Committee on Intelligence’s SCIF—or Sensitive Compartmentalized Information—to demand to be a part of the closed hearings, which as previously mentioned, they have no right to be a part of.

While in the SCIF, some Republicans such as Mark Walker tweeted that they were in the secure room to “protest” the closed hearing. After people noticed the tweet, Mark Walker’s account then posted that the tweet was posted by a staffer with information passed to them by Rep. Walker.

The SCIF, similar to a safe, is used when vital information needs to be discussed without the threat of spying. Accredited by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Committee on Intelligence frequently uses the room due to the nature of the information they work with. The main attack that the SCIF protects from is electronic eavesdropping, by having secure technology already located in the room and walls that try to stop electronic signals from getting in. The main precaution that those who enter the SCIF must follow is leaving unauthorized electronics outside the room—electronics such as personal cell phones.

As Mieke Eoyang, a former intelligence official who worked in the same SCIF that was compromised, explained on Twitter, congressmen and congresswomen are frequently targets of wiretapping yet they are the most relaxed in security protocols. The phones brought into the SCIF broke the security of the room until it could be cleared in a time-consuming process.

By tweeting, Congressmen Matt Gaetz and Mark Walker’s phones connected to cell phone towers from inside the SCIF. If a hacker at that time was trying to access their phone, they might have been able to hear sensitive information if any was being discussed. For those who work around SCIFs, the fact that the congressmen brought phones in is a shock. Punishments can be severe, even for just accidentally bringing phones in, so harsh punishment should be brought against those who stormed into the hearing.

13 of the republicans that stormed the SCIF are on committees involved in the hearing. Some were even on the committee in 2015 that agreed on the rules regarding closed hearings, and all should know the protocol surrounding the SCIF and sensitive information. For the party, who created these rules, to break them and then the law regarding classified information is irresponsible. For their leaders, such as Kevin McCarthy, to condone this act shows that as of now, the Republican Party cares more about the integrity of their party than following the constitution.

The actions taken have shown that the Republicans involved cannot be trusted to uphold the rules and regulations and therefore should be relieved of their duties to be on their respective committees. While this may cause more issues, the Democrats need to take a stand to show that they and the Constitution will not be walked over in the name of partisanship.

Those who tweeted or recorded in the SCIF should be fined the amount it cost for security officials to make sure the SCIF was not compromised. Taxpayer dollars went to fixing the careless and immature actions of people in power who should know better. The taxpayers deserve to be compensated. If they refuse to pay, then they should lose their ability to review classified information as they have shown their disregard for security protocols.

This may seem partisan as the Democrats have not faced repercussions for the closed hearings and for blocking Republicans from other committees from taking part in the inquiry. However, the Democrats are following the rules given to them, while the Republicans are crying foul.