U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Caledonia, was participating in a spending bill work session Wednesday in Washington when he learned that prominent conservative influencer Charlie Kirk had been shot.

“Your first hope is that it’s not life threatening,” Moolenaar said. “But then, as you know, we followed it and learned more through the evening, the news worsened. And so it’s just a very – a cloud that hung over the appropriations process as well as the House floor.”

Kirk was fatally shot in the neck by a sniper Wednesday, Sept. 10, while holding a debate at Utah Valley University. The suspect remains at large .

The debate was part of a nationwide campus tour for Kirk, who headed the preeminent conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA. Earlier this year, that tour took him to Mic

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